Cyl^iQ^^j)y^^ 


O^ju^ 


PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS 


fn/i^Sia^U.--^,^^ 


(The  above  portrait  was  given  by  the  author  to  the  translator.; 


Entered  at  Stationers"  Hall 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 

Few  people  are  conscious  of  the  deep  influence  exerted  by 
sexual  life  upon  the  sentiment,  thought  and  action  of 
man  in  his  social  relations  to  others.  Schiller,  in  his 
essay  "  Die  Weltweisen,"  touches  upon  this  subject  in 
these  memorable  words  :  "So  long  as  philosophy  keeps 
together  the  structure  of  the  Universe  so  long  does  it 
maintain  the  world's  machinery  by  hunger  and  love  ". 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  philosopher  sexual  life 
takes  a  subordinate  position. 

Schopenhauer  ("  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung," 
third  edition,  vol.  ii.,  p.  586,  etc.)  considers  it  peculiar 
that  love  has  hitherto  offered  material  to  the  poet  only 
and  not  also  to  the  philosopher,  the  scant  researches  by 
Plato,  Eousseau  and  Kant  always  excepted. 

Whatever  Schopenhauer,  and  after  him  E.  von  Hart- 
mann,  the  philosopher  of  the  unknown,  discuss  about 
sexual  relationship,  is  so  thoroughly  incorrect  and  illogical 
that,  so  far  as  science  is  concerned,  empirical  psychology 
and  the  metaphysics  of  man's  .sexual  existence  are  simply 
virgin  soil.  Michelet's  ("  L'amour  ")  and  Mantegazza's 
("Physiology  of  Love")  are  merely  clever  causeries,  and 
cannot  be  considered  in  the  hght  of  scientific  research. 

The  poet  is  the  better  psychologist,  for  he  is  swayed 
rather  by  sentiment  than  by  reason,  and  always  treats  his 
subject  in  a  partial  fashion.  He  cannot  discern  deep 
shadows  because  he  is  dazed  by  the  blazing  light,  and 
overcome  by  the  benign  heat  of  the  subject.     Although 


VI  PREFACE    TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION. 

the  "  Physiology  of  Love  "  provides  inexhaustible  material 
for  the  poetry  of  all  ages  and  of  all  peoples,  nevertheless 
the  poet  will  not  discharge  his  arduous  task  adequately 
without  the  active  co-operation  of  natural  philosophy  and, 
above  all,  that  of  medicine,  a  science  which  ever  seeks  to 
trace  all  psychological  manifestations  to  their  anatomical 
and  physiological  sources. 

In  these  efforts  medicine  succeeds,  perhaps,  in  forming 
a  connection  between  the  pessimistic  reflections  of  the 
philosopher  of  the  stamp  of  Schopenhatier  and  Hartmann,^ 
and  the  gay  and  naive  creations  of  the  poet. 

It  is  not  intended  to  build  up  in  this  book  a  system  of 
the  psychology  of  sexual  life,  still  from  the  close  study  of 
psychopathology  there  arise  most  important  psychological 
facts  which  it  behoves  the  scientist  to  notice. 

The  object  of  this  treatise  is  merely  to  record  the  various 
psychopathological  manifestations  of  sexual  life  in  man 
and  to  reduce  them  to  their  lawful  conditions.  This  task 
is  by  no  means  an  easy  one,  and  the  author  is  well  aware 
of  the  fact  that,  despite  his  (varied)  far-reaching  experience 
in  psychiatry  and  criminal  medicine,  he  is  yet  unable  to 
offer  anything  but  an  imperfected  system. 

The  importance  of  the  subject,  however,  demands 
scientific  research  on  account  of  its  forensic  bearing  and 
its  deep  influence  upon  the  common  weal.  The  medical 
barrister  only  then  finds  out  how  sad  the  lack  of  our 
knowledge  is  in  the  domain  of  sexuality  when  he  is  called 
upon  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  responsibility  of  the 
accused  whose  life,  liberty  arnd  honour  are  at  stake.  He 
then  begins  to  appreciate  the  efforts  that  have  been  made 
to  bring  light  into  darkness. 

'  Hartmann' s  philosophical  conception  of  love  ("  Philosophy  of  the 
Unknown,"  Berlin,  1869,  p.  583)  is :  "  Love  causes  more  pain  than 
pleasure.  Pleasure  is  only  an  illusion.  Reason  would  demand  the 
avoidance  of  love  were  it  not  for  that  fatal  sexual  instinct.  Hence  it 
would  be  better  to  be  castrated."  Schopenhauer  expresses  the  same  view 
in  his  work :  "  Die  Welt  als  WiUo  und  Voistellung,"  third  edition,  vol.  it. 
p.  586,  etc. 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION.  Vll 

Certain  it  is  that  so  far  as  sexual  crimes  are  concerned 
erroneous  ideas  prevail,  unjust  decisions  are  given,  and 
the  law  as  well  as  public  opinion  are  prima  facie  prejudiced 
against  the  offender. 

The  scientific  study  of  the  psychopathology  of  sexual 
life  necessarily  deals  with  the  miseries  of  man  and  the 
dark  sides  of  his  existence,  the  shadow  of  which  contorts 
the  sublime  image  of  the  deity  into  horrid  caricatures,  and 
leads  astray  aestheticism  and  morality. 

It  is  the  sad  privilege  of  medicine,  and  especially  that 
of  psychiatry  to  ever  witness  the  weaknesses  of  human 
nature  and  the  reverse  side  of  life. 

The  physician  finds,  perhaps,  a  (satisfaction)  solace  in 
the  fact  that  he  may  at  times  refer  those  manifestations 
which  offend  against  our  ethical  or  aesthetical  principles 
to  a  diseased  condition  of  the  mind  or  the  body.  He  can 
save  the  honour  of  humanity  in  the  forum  of  morality, 
and  the  honour  of  the  individual  before  the  judge  and  his 
fellow-men.  It  is  from  the  search  of  truth  that  the 
exalted  duties  and  rights  of  medical  science  emanate. 

The  author  adopts  the  saying  of  Tardieu  {"  Des  at- 
tentats aux  moeurs ")  :  "  Aucune  misere  physique  ou 
morale,  aucune  plaie,  quelque  corrompue  quelle  soit,  ne 
doit  effrayer  celui  qui  s'est  voue  a  la  science  de  Thomme,  et 
le  ministere  sacre  du  medecin,  en  I'obligeant  a  tout  voir, 
lui  permet  aussi  de  tout  dire  ". 

He  appeals  to  men  engaged  in  serious  study  in  the 
domains  of  natural  philosophy  and  medical  jurisprudence. 

A  scientific  title  has  been  chosen,  and  technical  terms 
are  used  throughout  the  book  in  order  to  exclude  the  lay 
reader.  For  the  same  reason  certain  portions  are  written 
in  Latin. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  TENTH  EDITION. 

This  edition  is  entirely  rewritten  and  considerably  en- 
larged. The  (exceptionally)  favourable  criticisms  which 
have  been  accorded  in  professional  circles  to  former  edi- 
tions are  a  guarantee  that  the  book  exercises  a  beneficent 
influence  upon  legislation  and  jurisprudence,  and  will 
assist  in  removing  erroneous  ideas  and  superannuated 
laws. 

Its  commercial  success  is  the  best  proof  that  large 
numbers  of  unfortunate  people  find  in  its  pages  instruction 
and  relief  in  the  frequently  enigmatical  manifestations  of 
sexual  life.  The  hosts  of  letters  that  have  reached  the 
author  from  all  parts  of  the  world  substantiate  this  as- 
sumption. Compassion  and  sympathy  are  strongly  elicited 
by  the  perusal  of  these  letters,  which  are  chiefly  written 
by  men  of  refined  thought  and  of  high  social  and  scientific 
standing.  They  reveal  sufferings  of  the  soul  in  compari- 
son to  which  all  the  other  afflictions  dealt  out  by  Fate 
appear  as  trifles. 

May  it  continue  to  convey  solace  and  social  elevation 
to  its  readers. 

The  number  of  technical  terms  has  been  increased, 
and  the  Latin  language  is  more  frequently  made  use  of 
than  in  former  editions.  New  observations,  to  which  no 
reference  has  been  made  in  the  ninth  edition,  will  be 
found  in  Nos.  58,  59,  67,  75,  76,  79,  80,  85,  87,  88,  101, 
102,  116-20,  132,  139,  176,  188,  190,  192,  196,  203. 

May  the  same  kind  reception  be  accorded  to  this 
edition  which  was  enjoyed  by  its  predecessors.  That  it 
may  prove  of  utility  in  the  service  of  science,  justice  and 
humanity  is  the  wish  of  the 

AUTHOE. 

Vienna,  1899. 


PUBLISHERS'   PREFACE. 

The  publishers  sincerely  trust  that  this  translation  from 
the  Tenth  German  Edition  of  PsycJiopathia  Sexualis  by  Dr. 
E.  V.  Krafft-Ebing  will  be  received  with  favour  by  those 
for  whom  the  book  is  written,  and  that  its  readers  will 
derive  that  benefit  which  the  author  has  in  view. 

The  sale  of  the  book  is  rigidly  restricted  to  the  members 
of  the  medical  and  legal  professions. 

Any  communications  intended  for  the  translator  should 
be  addressed  to  "Translator"  (Krafft-Ebing),  care  of 
Rebman,  Limited,  129  Shaftesbury  Avenue,  London. 

THE   PUBLISHERS. 

London,  1899. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  FRAGMENTS  OF  A  SYSTEM  OF  PSYCHOLOGY  OF 
SEXUAL  LIFE l 

Force  of  sexual  instincts,  1 — Sexual  instinct  the  basis  of  ethical 
sentiments,  2 — Love  as  a  passion,  3 — Historical  development 
of  sexual  life,  3 — Chastity,  3 — Christianity,  4 — Monogamy,  3 — 
Position  of  woman  in  Islam,  5 — Sensuality  and  morality,  7 — 
Cultural   demoralisation  of   sexual  life,  7 — Episodes  of  the 

,  moral  decay  of  nations,  8 — Development  of  sexual  desire; 
puberty,  8  —  Sensuality  and  religious  fanaticism,  9  —  Re- 
lation between  religious  and  sexual  domains,  10 — Sensuality 
and  art,  12 — Idealisation  of  first  love,  13 — True  love,  14 — 
Sentimentality,  14 — Platonic  love,  15 — Love  and  Friendship, 
15 — Difference  between  the  love  of  the  man  and  that  of  the 
woman,  15— Celibacy,  15— Adultery,  16— Matrimony,  IB- 
Fondness  of  dress,  16— Facts  of  physiological  fetichism,  .18 
. — Religious  and  erotic  fetichism,  18 — Hair,  hand,  foot  of  the 
female  as  fetiches,  20 — Eye,  smell,  voice,  psychical  qualities 
as  fetich,  21. 

II   PHYSIOLOGICAL  FACTS 26 

Puberty,  26— Time  limit  of  sexual  life,  27— Sexual  sense,  27— 
Localisation,  28 — Physiological  development  of  sexual  life, 
28 — Erections  ;  Centre  of  erection,  29 — Sphere  of  sexuality 
and  olfaction,  31— Flagellation  as  a  stimulant  for  sexual  life, 
34— Sect  of  flagellants,  35—"  Flagellum  Salutis  "  of  Paulini,  37 
— "Erogenous"  (hyperaesthetic)  zones,  37 — Control  of  sexual 
instinct,  40 — Coitus,  41— Ejaculation,  42. 

IIL-GENERAL     NEUROPATHOLOGY     AND    PSYCHO- 
PATHOLOGY  OF   SEXUAL   LIFE  ....      43 

Frequency  and  importance  of  pathological  manifestations,  44 — 
Sexual  neuroses  systematised,  44 — Influences  stimulating  the 
erectile  tissues,  45 — Paralysis  of  the  erectile  tissues,  45— 
Temporary  impotence,  45— Neurosis  of  the  nerve  centres  of 
ejaculation,    46 — Neurosis   produced   by  cerebral   causes,   46 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

— Paradoxia,  i.e.,  sexual  instinct  outside  the  period  of  ana- 
tomical-physiological processes,  47 — Sexual  instinct  in  early 
childhood,  48— Sexual  instinct  reappearing  in  old  age,  50 — 
Sexual  perversions  in  seniles  due  to  impotence  or  dementia,  51 
— Anesthesia  sexualis,  i.e.,  absence  of  sexual  instinct,  54 — con- 
genital, 54 — acquired,  61 — Hypercesthesia,  i.e.,  pathologically 
exaggerated  sexual  instinct,  62 — Conditions  and  manifestations 
of  this  anomaly,  63 — ParcBstliesia  or  perversion  of  the  sexual 
instinct,    75 — Perversion     and    perversity,    76 — Sadism,    an 
attempted  explanation  of  sadism,  76 — Sadistic  lust  murder, 
82 — Anthropophagy,  85 — Mutilation  of  corpses,  90— Maltreat- 
ment of  women  by  cutting  or  flogging,  etc.,  95 — Defilement  of 
female  persons,  102 — Symbolical  sadism,  i.e.,  brutal  force  em- 
ployed against  female  persons,  105 — Sadism  practised  on  any 
other  object,  106 — Flogging   of  boys,  106 — Sadistic  acts  on 
animals,  109 — Sadism  in  vyoman,  112 — Kleist's  "  Penthesilea," 
114 — Masochism,  115 — Essence  and  clinical  manifestations  of 
masochism,  115 — Maltreatment  and   humiliation  invited   for 
the  purpose  of  sexual  gratification,  117 — Passive  flagellation 
and  its  relations  to  masochism,  133 — Frequency  and  practices 
of    masochism,    146  —  Symbolical    masochism,    148 — Ideal 
masochism,  150 — Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  154 — Masochism  in 
scientific  and  belletristical  literature,  157 — Latent  masochism, 
159  —  Shoe   and    foot    fetichism,    159  —  Koprolagnia,   178 — 
Masochism   in  woman,   187 — An  attempted   explanation   of 
masochism,   191  —  Sexual   bondage,    194  —  Masochism    and 
sadism,  202 — Fetichism,  definition   of,   207 — Cases   in  which 
the  fetich  is  a  part  of  the  female  body,  213 — Hand  fetichism, 
214 — Bodily  defects  as  fetiches,  223 — Hair  fetichism,  228 — • 
Hair  despoilers,  229 — The  fetich  is  a  part  of  female  attire,  235 
— Mania    for     (theft    of)    female    handkerchiefs,    243 — Shoe 
fetichism,  248 — The  fetich  consists  of  some  special  fabric,  255 
— Fur,    silk,   velvet    fetichism,    257 — Beast   fetichism,    267 — 
Antipathic  sexual  instinct,  269 — Acquired  sexual  inversion  in 
either  sex,  273 — Neurotic  taint  a  condition  of  antipathic  sexual 
instinct,  275 — Grades  of  acquired  perversion,  276 — Simple  in- 
version of  sexual  instinct,  276 — Eviration  and  defemination,  284 
— Insanity  among  the  Scythians,  290 — Mujerados,  291 — Transi- 
tion to  tnetamorplwsis  sexualis,  292 — Metamorphosis  sexualis 
paranoica,  316 — Congenital  antipathic  sexuality,  323 — Various 
clinical    forms    thereof,    325 — General    symptoms,   325 — At- 
tempted explanation  of  this  anomaly,  330 — Congenital  anti- 
pathic sexuality  in  the  male,  339 — Psychical  hermaphrodism, 
342 — Homosexuality,  357— Urnings,  Z51—Effemination,  373 — 
Androgyny,  384 — Congenital  antipathic  sexuality  in  the  female, 
390 — Other  manifestations  of  sexual  perversion,  428— Diag- 
nosis, prognosis  and  therapy  of  sexual  inversion,  431. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAGE 

IV.  SPECIAL  PATHOLOGY 445 

The  manifestations  of  pathological  sexual  life  in  the  various  forms 
and  conditions  of  mental  disturbance,  446— Inhibition  of 
psychical  development,  446 — Acquired  mental  debility,  449 
— Dementia  following  psychosis  or  apoplexy,  449 — Or  injuries 
to  the  head,  450— Or  lues  cerebralis,  451 — Dementia  parahjtica, 
451— Epilepsy,  453— Periodical  dementia,  ^Ql—Psyclwpathia 
sexualis  periodica,  463 — Mania,  465— Symptoms  of  sexual 
excitement  in  maniacs,  465— Satyriasis  and  nymphomania, 
465 — Chronic  satyriasis  and  nymphomania,  466 — Melancholia, 
467— Hysteria,  467— Paranoia,  469. 

V.  PATHOLOGICAL     SEXUAL    LIFE     BEFORE     THE 
CRIMINAL   FORUM 472 

Sexual  crimes  endanger  the  common  weal,  472 — On  the  increase, 
473— Probable  causes,  478 — Clinical  researches,  474 — Sexual 
crimes  not  properly  understood  by  the  law  profession,  475 — 
Points  for  the  proper  judgment  of  sexual  crimes,  475 — Con- 
ditions for  the  cessation  of  responsibility,  476 — Points  for  the 
psycho-pathological  importance  of  sexual  crimes,  ilG—Sexiial 
■  crimes  classified,  476— Exhibitionists,  477 — Frotteurs,  496 — De- 
filers  of  statues,  499 — Rape  and  lust-murder,  500 — Bodily  injury, 
violation  of  things,  cruelty  to  animals  caused  by  sadism,  507 
— Masochism  and  sexual  bondage,  513 — Bodily  injury,  robbery, 
theft    emanating    from    fetichism,    517  —  Immorahty    with 

persons    under   the   age    of    fourteen,   521— Violation,   530 

Unnatural  abuse,  530  —  Violation  of  animals,  sodomy, 
bestiality,  530 — Zooerasty,  539 — Unnatural  sexual  relations 
with  persons  of  the  same  sex,  pederasty,  539 — In  relation  to 
sexual  inversion,  541 — Necessity  to  distinguish  between  patho- 
logical and  normal  conditions  of  pederasty,  541 — Forensic 
opinion  on  congenital  sexual  inversion  and  when  pathologically 
acquired,  542 — Letter  from  an  urning,  542 — Reasons  why 
legal  proceedings  against  homosexual  acts  should  be  stopped, 
547— Cultivated  pederasty  (not  pathological),  554— Causes  of 
the  vice,  554 — Social  life  of  pederasts,  556 — A  woman-hater's 
ball  in  Berlin,  559 — Various  categories  of  niale-loviug  men, 
562 — Pcrdicatio  mulierum,  563 — Amor  lesbicus,  576 — Necro- 
philia, 580— Incest,  580— Violation  of  wards,  582. 


INDEX 


583 


I.  FEAGMENTS  OF  A  SYSTEM  OF  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 

The  propagation  of  the  human*  race  is  not  left  to  mere 
accident  or  the  caprices  of  the  individual,  but  is  guaran- 
teed by  the  hidden  laws  of  nature  which  are  enforced  by 
a  mighty,  irresistible  impulse.  Sensual  enjoyment  and 
physical  fitness  are  not  the  only  conditions  for  the  en- 
forcement of  these  laws,  but  higher  motives  and  aims, 
such  as  the  desire  to  continue  the  species  or  the  individu- 
ality of  mental  and  physical  qualities  beyond  time  and 
space,  exert  a  considerable  influence,  Man  puts  himself 
at  once  on  a  level  with  the  beast  if  he  seeks  to  gratify 
lust  alone,  but  he  elevates  his  superior  position  when  by 
curbing  the  animal  desire  he  combines  with  the  sexual 
functions  ideas  of  morality,  of  the  sublime,  and  the  beau- 
tiful. 

Placed  upon  this  lofty  pedestal  he  stands  far  above 
nature  and  draws  from  inexhaustible  sources  material  for 
nobler  enjoyments,  for  serious  work  and  for  the  realisation 
of  ideal  aims.  Maudsley  ("Deutsche  Klinik,"  1873,  2,  3) 
justly  claims  that  sexual  feeling  is  the  basis  upon  which 
social  advancement  is  developed  : — 

If  man  were  deprived  of  sexual  distinction  and  the 
nobler  enjoyments  arising  therefrom,  all  poetry  and  prob- 
ably all  moral  tendency  would  be  eliminated  from  his  life. 

Sexual  life  no  doubt  is  the  one  mighty  factor  in  the 
individual  and  social  relations  of  man  which  disclose  his 
powers  of  activity,  of  acquiring  property,  of  establishing  a 


I  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

home,  of  awakening  altruistic  sentiments  towards  a  person 
of  the  opposite  sex,  and  towards  his  own  issue  as  well  as 
towards  the  whole  human  race. 

Sexual  feeling  is  really  the  root  of  all  ethics,  and  no 
doubt  of  aistheticism  and  religion. 

The  subliiuest  virtues,  even  the  sacrifice  of  self,  may 
spring  from  sexual  life,  which,  however,  on  account  of  its 
sensual  power,  may  easily  degenerate  into  the  lowest 
passion  and  basest  vice. 

Love  unbridled  is  a  volcano  that  burns  down  and  lays 
waste  all  around  it ;  it  is  an  abyss  that  devours  all — 
honour,  substance  and  health. 

It  is  of  great  psychological  interest  to  follow  up  the 
gradual  development  of  civilisation  and  the  influence 
exerted  by  sexual  life  upon  habits  and  morality.^  The 
gratification  of  the  sexual  instinct  seems  to  be  the  primary 
motive  in  man  as  well  as  in  beast.  Sexual  intercourse  is 
done  openly,  and  man  and  woman  are  not  ashamed  of 
their  nakedness.  The  savage  races,  e.g.,  Australasians, 
Polynesians,  Malays  of  the  Philippines  are  still  in  this  stage 
{vide  Ploss).  Woman  is  the  common  property  of  man, 
the  spoil  of  the  strongest  and  mightiest,  who  chooses  the 
most  winsome  for  his  own,  a  sort  of  instinctive  sexual 
selection  of  the  fittest. 

Woman  is  a  "  chattel,"  an  article  of  commerce,  exchange 
or  gift,  a  vessel  for  sensual  gratification,  an  implement  for 
toil.  The  presence  of  shame  in  the  manifestations  and 
exercise  of  the  sexual  functions,  and  of  modesty  in  the 
mutual  relations  between  the  sexes  are  the  foundations  of 
morality.  Thence  arises  the  desire  to  cover  the  nakedness 
("and  they  saw  that  they  were  naked")  and  to  perform 
the  act  in  private. 

The  development  of  this  grade  of  civilisation  is  furthered 
by  the  conditions  of  frigid  climes  which  necessitate  the 

1  Cf.  Lombroso,  "  The  Criminal  "  ;  Westeniiarck,  "  The  History  of 
Marriage";  Ploss,  "Das  Weib  in  der  Natur-  und  Volkerkunde,"  third 
edition,  vol.  ii.,  p.  413-90. 


A   SYSTEM    or    PSYCHOLOGY    OF    SEXUAL   LIFE.  3 

protection  of  the  whole  body  agaiust  the  cold.  It  is  an 
anthropological  fact  that  modesty  can  be  traced  to  much 
earlier  periods  among  northern  races. ^ 

Another  element  which  tends  to  promote  the  refined 
development  of  sexual  life  is  the  fact  that  woman  ceases 
to  be  a  "  chattel  ".  She  becomes  an  individual  being,  and, 
although  socially  stdl  far  below  man,  she  gradually  acquires 
rights,  independence  of  action,  and  the  privilege  to  bestow 
her  favours  where  she  inclines.  She  is  wooed  by  man. 
Traces  of  ethical  sentiments  pervade  the  rude  sensual 
appetite,  idealisation  begins  and  community  of  woman 
ceases.  The  sexes  are  drawn  to  each  other  by  mental  and 
physical  merits  a^d  exchange  favours  of  preference.  In 
this  stage  woman  is  conscious  of  the  fact  that  her  charms 
belong  only  to  the  man  of  her  choice.  She  seeks  to  hide 
them  from  others.  This  forms  the  foundation  of  modesty, 
chastity  and  sexual  fidelity  so  long  as  love  endures. 

This  development  is  hastened  wherever  nomadic  habits 
yield  to  the  spirit  of  colonisation,  where  man  establishes' 
a  household.     He  feels  the  necessity  for  a  companion  in 
life,  a  housewife  in  a  settled  home. 

The  Egyptians,  the  Israelites,  and  the  Greeks  reached 
this  level  at  early  periods,  so  did  the  Teutonic  races.  Its 
principal  characteristics  are  high  appreciation  of  virginity, 
chastity,  modesty  and  sexual  fidelity  in  strong  contrast 
to  the  habits  of  other  peoples  where  the  host  places  the 
personal  charms  of  the  wife  at  the  disposal  of  the  guest. 

The  history  of  Japan  furnishes  a  striking  proof  that 
this  high  grade  of  civilisation  is  often  the  last  stage  of 
moral  development,  for  in  that  country  to  within  ten 
years  ago  prostitution  was  not  considered  to  impair  in 
any  way  the  social  status  of  the  future  wife. 

Christianity  raised  the  union  of  the  sexes  to  a  sublime 

1  According  to  Wcstermarck,  op.  cit.,  it  was  "  not  the  feeling  of  shame 
which  suggested  the  garment,  but  the  garment  engendered  shame.  The 
desire  to  make  themselves  more  attractive  originated  the  habit  among 
men  and  women  to  cover  their  nakedness." 


4  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

position  by  making  woman  socially  the  equal  of  man  and 
by  elevating  the  bond  of  love  to  a  moral  and  religious 
institution.^     Thence  emanates  the  fact  that  the  love  of 

^  This  assertion  may  be  modified  in  so  far  that  the  symbolical  and 
sacramental  character  of  matrimony  was  clearly  defined  only  by  the 
Council  of  Trent,  although  the  spirit  of  Christianity  always  tended  to  raisa 
woman  from  the  inferior  position  which  she  occupied  in  previous  centuries 
and  in  the  Old  Testament. 

The  tradition  that  woman  was  created  from  the  rib  of  the  sleeping 
man  (see  Genesis)  is  one  of  the  causes  of  delay  in  this  direction,  for  after 
the  fall  she  is  told  "  thy  will  shall  be  subject  to  man  ".  According  to  the 
Old  Testament,  woman  is  responsible  for  the  fall  of  man,  and  this  became 
the  corner-stone  of  Christian  teaching.  Thus  the  social  position  of  woman 
had  to  be  neglected,  as  it  were,  until  the  spirit  of  Christianity  had  con- 
quered tradition  and  scholastic  tenets. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  gospels  (barring  divorce.  Matt.  xix.  9) 
contain  not  a  word  in  favour  Oj."  woman.  The  clemency  shown  towards 
the  adulteress  and  the  penitent  Magdalen  do  not  affect  the  position  of 
woman  in  general.  The  epistles  of  St.  Paul  definitely  insist  that  no 
change  can  be  permitted  in  the  position  of  woman  (2  Cor.  xi.  3-12  ;  Eph. 
V.  22,  "woman  shall  be  subject  to  man,"  and  23,  "woman  shall  fear 
man"). 

How  much  the  fathers  of  the  Church  are  prejudiced  against  woman 
on  account  of  Eve's  part  in  the  temptation  may  be  easily  learned  from 
TertulUan,  "  Woman,  thou  shouldst  ever  go  in  mourning  and  sackcloth,  thy 
eyes  filled  with  tears.  Thou  hast  brought  about  the  ruin  of  mankind.' 
St.  Jerome  has  aught  but  good  to  say  about  woman.  "  Woman  is  the  gate 
of  the  devil,  the  road  of  evil,  the  sting  of  the  scorpion  "  ("  De  Cultu  Femin- 
arum,"  i.  1). 

Canon  law  declares:  "Man  only  is  created  to  the  image  of  God  not 
womon  ;  therefore  woman  shall  serve  him  and  be  his  handmaid  ". 

The  Provincial  Council  of  Macon  (sixth  century)  seriously  discussed 
the  question  whether  woman  had  a  soul  at  all. 

These  opinions  of  the  Church  had  a  sympathetic  influence  upon  the 
peoples  who  embraced  Christianity.  Among  the  converted  Germanic 
races  the  dower  value  of  woman  fell  considerably  {J.  Falke,  "Die  ritter- 
liche  Gesellschaft,"  Berlin,  1862,  p.  49.  Be  the  valuation  of  the  two  sexes 
among  the  Jews,  cf.  3  Moses,  xxvii.  3-4). 

E\en  polygamy,  which  is  distinctly  recognised  in  the  Old  Testament, 
(Deut.  xxi.  15)  is  nowhere  in  the  New  Testament  definitely  prohibited. 
In  fact  many  Christian  princes  {e.g.  the  Merovingian  kings :  Chlotar  I., 
Charibert  I.,  Pippin  I.  and  other  Frankish  nobles)  indulged  in  polygamy 
without  a  protest  being  raised  by  the  Church  at  the  time  (Weinhold,  "  Die 
deutschen  Frauen  im  Mittelalter,"  ii.,  p.  15  ;  cf.  linger,  "  Marriage,"  etc., 
and  Lotiis  Bridel,  "  La  Femme  et  le  Droit,"  Paris,  1884). 


A   SYSTEM   OF   PSYCHOLOGY   OF    SEXUAL   LIFE.  5 

man,  if  considered  from  the  standpoint  of  advanced  civilisa- 
tion, can  only  be  of  a  monogamic  nature  and  must  rest  upon 
a  staple  basis.  Even  though  nature  should  claim  merely 
the  law  of  propagation,  a  community  (family  or  state) 
cannot  subsist  without  the  guarantee  that  the  offspring 
thrive  physically,  morally  and  intellectually.  From  the 
moment  when  woman  was  recognised  the  peer  of  man, 
when  monogamy  became  a  law  and  was  consolidated  by 
legal,  religious  and  moral  conditions,  the  Christian  nations 
obtained  a  mental  and  material  superiority  over  the  poly- 
gamic races,  and  especially  over  Islam. 

Mohammed  strove  to  raise  woman  from  the  position 
of  the  slave  and  mere  handmaid  of  enjoyment,  to  a  higher 
social  and  matrimonial  grade  ;  yet  she  remained  still  far 
below  man,  who  alone  could  obtain  divorce,  and  that  on 
the  easiest  terms. 

Above  all  things  Islamism  excludes  woman  from  public 
life  and  enterprise,  and  stifles  her  intellectual  and  moral 
advancement.  The  Mohammedan  woman  is  simply  a 
means  for  sensual  gratification  and  the  propagation  of 
the  species  ;  whilst  in  the  sunny  balm  of  Christian  doctrine, 
blossom  forth  her  divine  virtues  and  her  qualities  of 
housewife,  companion  and  mother.     What  a  contrast ! 

Compare  the  two  religions  and  their  standard  of  future 
happiness.  The  Christian  expects  a  heaven  of  spiritual  bhss 
absolutely  free  from  carnal  pleasure ;  the  Mohammedan 
au  eternal  harem,  a  paradise  among  lovely  houris.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  the  aid  which  religion,  law,  education  and  the 
moral  code  offer  him,  the  Christian  (to  subdue  his  sensual 
inclination)  often  drags  pure  and  chaste  love  from  its 
sublime  pedestal  and  wallows  in  the  quagmire  of  sensual 
enjoyment  and  lust. 

Life  is  a  never-ceasing  duel  between  the  animal  in- 
stinct and  morality.  Only  will-power  and  a  strong  character 
can  emancipate  man  from  the  meanness  of  his  corrupt 
nature,  and  teach  him  how  to  enjoy  the  pure  pleasures  of 
love  and  pluck  the  noble  fruits  of  earthly  existence. 


6  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

It  is  an  open  question  whether  the  moral  status  of 
mankind  has  undergone  an  improvement  in  our  times. 
No  doubt  society  at  large  shows  a  greater  veneer  of 
modesty  and  virtue,  and  vice  is  not  as  flagrantly  practised 
as  of  yore. 

The  reader  of  Scherr  ("  Deutsche  Culturgeschichte  ") 
will  gain  the  impression  that  our  moral  code  is  not  so 
gross  as  was  that  of  the  middle  ages,  even  if  only  more  re- 
fined manners  have  taken  the  place  of  former  coarseness. 

In  comparing  the  various  stages  of  civilisation  it  be- 
comes evident  that,  despite  periodical  relapses,  public 
morality  has  made  steady  progress,  and  that  Christianity 
is  the  chief  factor  in  this  advance. 

We  are  certainly  far  beyond  sodomitic  idolatry,  the 
public  life,  legislation  and  religious  exercises  of  ancient 
Greece,  not  to  speak  of  the  worship  of  Phallus  and  Priapus 
in  vogue  among  the  Athenians  and  Babylonians,  or  the 
Bacchanalian  feasts  of  the  Eomans  and  the  privileged  posi- 
tion held  by  the  courtesans  of  those  days. 

There  are  stagnant  and  fluctuating  periods  in  this  slow 
progress,  but  they  are  only  like  the  ebb-  and  flood- tide 
of  sexual  hfe  in  the  individual. 

The  episodes  of  moral  decay  always  coincide  with  the 
progression  of  effeminacy,  lewdness  and  luxuriance  of  the 
nations.  These  phenomena  can  only  be  ascribed  to  the 
hifrher  and  more  stringent  demands  which  circumstances 
make  upon  the  nervous  system.  Exaggerated  tension  of 
the  nervous  system  stimulates  sensuality,  leads  the  indi- 
vidual as  well  as  the  masses  to  excesses,  and  undermines 
the  very  foundations  of  society,  and  the  morality  and  purity 
of  family  life.  The  material  and  moral  ruin  of  the  com- 
munity is  readily  brought  about  by  debauchery,  adultery 
and  luxury.  Greece,  the  Roman  Empire,  and  France 
under  Louis  XIV.  and  XV.,  are  striking  examples  of  this 
assertion.  In  such  periods  of  civic  and  moral  decline  the 
most  monstrous  excesses  of  sexual  life  may  be  observed, 
which,  however,  can  always  be  traced  to  ps5xho-patho- 


A    SYSTEM    OF    PSYCnOLOGY    OF    SEXUAL    LIFE.  / 

logical  or  neuro-pathological  conditions  of  the  nation  in- 
volved.^ 

Large  cities  are  hotbeds  in  which  neuroses  and  low 
morality  are  bred,  vide  the  history  of  Babylon,  Nineveh, 
Rome  and  the  mysteries  of  modern  metropolitan  life.  It 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  among  savages  and  half-civilised 
races  sexual  intemperance  is  not  observed  (except  among 
the  Aleutians  and  the  Oriental  and  Nama- Hottentot 
women  who  practise  masturbation).^ 

The  study  of  sexual  life  in  the  individual  naturally 
deals  with  its  various  phases,  beginning  with  the  stage  of 
puberty  to  the  extinction  of  sexual  feeling. 

Mantegazza  ("  Physiology  of  Love  ")  draws  a  beautiful 
picture  of  the  bodings  and  yearnings  of  awakening  love,  of 
the  mysterious  sensations,  foretastes  and  impulses  that  fill 
the  heart,  long  before  the  period  of  puberty  has  arrived. 
Psychologically  speaking,  this  is,  perhaps,  the  most  mo- 
mentous epoch  of  life,  for  the  wealth  of  ideas  and  senti- 
ments engendered  through  it,  forms  the  standard  by  which 
psychic  activity  may  be  measured. 

The  advance  of  puberty  develops  the  impulses  of  youth, 
hitherto  vague  and  undefined,  into  conscious  realisation  of 
the  sexual  power.  The  psychological  reactions  of  animal 
passion  manifest  themselves  in  the  irresistible  desires  of 
intimacy,  and  the  longing  to  bestow  the  strange  affections 
of  nature  upon  others. 

Religion  and  poetry  frequently  become  the  temporary 
haven  of  rest,  even  after  the  period  of  storm  and  stress  is 
passed.  Religious  enthusiasm  is  more  commonly  met 
with  in  the  young  than  the  old.     The  lives  of  the  saints^ 

^  Cf.  Friedldnder ^  "  Sittengeschichte  Roms  "  ;  Wiedemeister,  "  Der 
Casarenwahnsinn  "  ;  Suetonius,  Moreau,  "  Des  aberrations  du  sens 
gendsique  ". 

2  Friedreich  ("  Hdb.  der  gerichtlicharztlich.  Praxis,"  1843,  i.  p.  271)  ia 
of  a  different  opinion,  for  according  to  him  the  Red  Indians  of  America  are 
addicted  to  the  practice  of  pederasty.     Cf.  also  Lombroao,  p.  42. 

^  Cf.  Friedreich  ("  Gerichtl.  Psychologic, "  p.  3S9)  who  quotes  numerous 
examples.     For  instance,  Blankebin,  the  nun,  was  constantly  tormented 


8  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

are  replete  with  remarkable  records  of  temptations.  The 
religious  feasts  of  the  ancients  often  degenerated  into  orgies, 
or  into  mystic  cults  of  a  voluptuous  character.  Even 
the  meetings  of  certain  modern  sects  dissolve  themselves 
simply  into  obscene  practices. 

On  the  contrary  we  find  that  the  sexual  instinct, 
when  disappointed  and  unappeased,  frequently  seeks  and 
fends  a  substitute  in  rehgion. 

Even  where  psycho-pathological  conditions  are  diag- 
nosed beyond  dispute,  this  relation  between  religious  and 
sexual  feelings  can  easily  be  established.  The  cause  of  re- 
hgious  insanity  is  often  to  be  found  in  sexual  aberration. 
In  psychosis  a  motley  mixture  of  religious  and  sexual  delu- 
sions is  observable,  viz.,  in  female  lunatics  who  imagine 
that  they  are  or  will  be  the  mother  of  God,  and  especially 
in  persons  slaves  to  masturbation.  The  cruel,  sensual  acts 
of  chastisement,  violation,  emasculation  and  even  crucifix- 
ion perpetrated  upon  self  by  religious  maniacs,  bear  out 
this  assertion.^ 

Any  attempt  to  explain  the  psychological  relations  be- 
by  the  thought  of  what  could  have  become  of  that  part  of  Christ  which 
was  removed  in  circumcision. 

Veronica  Juliani,  beatified  by  Pope  Pius  II.,  in  memory  of  the  divine 
lamb,  took  a  real  lamb  to  bed  with  her,  kissed  it  and  suckled  it  on  her 
breasts. 

St.  Catharine  of  Genoa  often  burned  with  such  intense  inward  fire  that 
in  order  to  cool  herself  she  would  throw  herself  upon  the  ground  crying, 
"  Love,  love,  I  can  endure  it  no  longer  ".  At  the  same  time  she  felt  a 
peculiar  inclination  to  her  confessor.  One  day  lifting  his  hand  to  her  nose 
she  noticed  a  peculiar  odour  which  penetrated  to  her  heart  "  a  heavenly 
perfume  that  would  awaken  the  dead  ". 

St.  Armelle  and  St.  Elizabeth  were  troubled  with  a  similar  longing 
for  the  Infant  Jesus.  The  temptations  of  St.  Anthony,  of  Padua,  are  known 
to  the  world.  Of  significance  is  an  old  Protestant  prayer  :  "  Oh  1  that  I 
had  found  thee,  bless'd  Emanuel ;  that  thou  wert  with  me  in  my  bed,  to 
bring  delight  to  body  and  soul.  Come  and  be  mine.  My  heart  shall  be 
thy  resting  place." 

^  Cf.  Friedreich,  "  Diagnostik  der  psych.  Krankheiten,"  p.  247  etc.; 
Neumann,  Lehrb.  d.  "  PsychiatriCj"  p.  80. 


A    SYSTEM   OF   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   SEXUAL   LIFE.  9 

tween  religion  and  love  must  needs  meet  with  difficulties, 
for  analogous  instances  are  met  with  in  great  numbers. 

Sexual  inclinations  and  religious  leanings  (if  considered 
as  psychological  factors),  are  composed  of  two  elements. 

Schleiermacher  recognised  the  primary  feeling  of  depen- 
dence as  the  paramount  element  in  religion,  long  before 
modern  anthropological  and  ethnographic  research  in  the 
domain  of  primitive  causes,  arrived  at  the  same  conclu- 
sions. 

The  secondary  and  truly  ethical  element,  i.e.,  the  love 
of  God,  enters  the  religious  sentiment  only  when  a  higher 
stage  of  culture  is  attained.  At  first,  the  double-faced, 
now  benevolent,  now  angry,  chimeras  of  complicated 
mythologies,  take  the  place  of  the  evil  spirits,  until  they 
in  turn  are  dislodged  by  the  benign  form  of  the  deity,  the 
giver  of  perpetual  happiness,  whether  it  be  in  the  shape 
of  Jehovah  as  the  author  of  all  earthly  blessings,  or  Allah 
who  bestows  physical  delight  in  Paradise,  or  Christ  who 
is  gone  before  to  prepare  mansions  of  eternal  light  and 
bliss,  or  Nirvana  who  reigns  in  the  heaven  of  the  Buddhist. 

The  primary  element  of  sexical  preference  is  love,  i.e., 
the  expectation  of  unsurpassed  pleasure.  The  secondary 
element  is  the  feeling  of  dependence,  although  it  is  in 
reality  the  root  from  which  both  spring  alike,  as  the 
former  may  be  entirely  absent.  It  certainly  exists  in  a 
stronger  measure  in  woman,  on  account  of  her.  social 
position,  and  the  passive  part  which  she  takes  in  the  act 
of  procreation ;  but  at  times  it  is  also  found  in  men  who 
are  of  a  feminine  type. 

Eeligion  as  well  as  sexual  love  is  mystical  and  trans- 
cendental. In  sexual  love  the  real  object  of  the  instinct, 
i.e.,  propagation  of  the  species,  is  not  always  present  to 
the  mind  during  the  act,  and  the  impulse  is  much 
stronger  than  could  be  justified  by  the  gratification  that 
can  possibly  be  derived  from  it.  Keligious  love  strives 
for  the  possession  of  an  object  that  is  absolutely  ideal, 
and  cannot  be  defined  by  experimental  knowledge.    Both 


10  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

are  metaphysical  processes  which  give  unlimited  scope  to 
imagination. 

They  converge,  however,  in  a  similar  indefinite  focus  ; 
for  the  gratification  of  the  sensual  appetite  promises  a 
boon  which  far  surpasses  all  other  conceivable  pleasures, 
and  faith  has  in  store  a  bliss  that  endures  for  ever. 

In  either  condition  the  mind  is  conscious  of  the  enor- 
mous importance  of  the  object  to  be  obtained  ;  thus  im- 
pulses often  become  irresistible  and  overcome  all  opposing 
motives.  But  because  neither  of  them  can  at  times  grasp 
the  real  object  of  their  existence  they  easily  degenerate 
into  fanaticism,  in  which  intensity  of  emotion  overbalances 
clearness  and  stability  of  reason.  Expectation  of  un- 
fathomed  bliss  is  now  coupled  with  reckless  resignation 
and  unconditional  submission. 

Owing  to  this  conformity  it  happens  that  under  high 
tension  one  dislodges  the  other,  or  that  both  make  their 
appearance  together  ;  for  every  violent  upheaval  in  the 
soul  must  necessarily  sweep  along  its  surroundings. 
Nature,  always  the  same,  draws  alike  upon  these  two 
spheres  of  conception,  now  forcing  one  then  the  other 
into  stronger  activity,  which  degenerates  even  into  acts  of 
cruelty  either  actively  exercised,  or  passively  endured. 

In  religious  life  this  may  assume  the  shape  of  self- 
sacrifice  or  self-destruction,  prompted  by  the  idea  that 
the  victim  is  necessary  for  the  material  sustenance  of  the 
deity.  The  sacrifice  is  brought  as  a  sign  of  reverence  or 
submission,  as  a  tribute,  as  an  atonement  for  sins  com- 
mitted, or  as  a  price  whei-ewith  to  purchase  happiness. 

If,  however,  the  offering  consists  in  self-punishment — 
and  that  occurs  in  all  rehgions ! — it  serves  not  only  as  a 
symbol  of  submission,  or  an  equivalent  in  the  exchange 
of  present  pain  for  future  bliss,  but  everything  that  is 
thought  to  come  from  the  deity,  all  that  is  done  in 
obedience  to  divine  mandates  or  to  the  honour  of  the 
Godhead,  is  felt  directly  as  pleasure.  Thus  religious 
exuberance   leads  to  ecstasy,  a  condition  in  which  con- 


A   SYSTEM    OP   PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SEXUAL   LIFE.  li 

sciousness  is  so  preoccupied  with  feelinf::;s  of  mental 
pleasure,  that  distress  is  stripped  of  its  painful  quality. 

Exaggerated  reii,i;ious  enthusiasm  also  finds  pleasure 
in  the  sacrifice  of  another  person,  when  rapture  combines 
with  sympathy. 

Similar  manifestations  may  be  observed  in  sexual  life, 
as  will  be  shown  later  on  und(?r  the  headings  of  Sadism 
and  Masochism. 

Thus  the  relations  existing  between  religion,  lust,  and 
cruelty,^  may  be  condensed  into  the  fornmla  :  Eeligious 
and  sexual  hyperaesthesia  at  the  acme  of  development 
show  the  same  volume  of  intensity  and  the  same  quality 
of  excitement,  and  may  therefore  under  given  circum- 
stances interchange.  Both  will  in  certain  pathological 
states  degenerate  into   cruelty. 

Sexual  influence  is  just  as  potent  in  the  awakening  of 
aesthetic  sentiments.  What  other  foundation  is  tlicre  for 
the  plastic  art  or  poetry?  From  (sensual)  love  arises 
that  warmth  of  fancy  which  alone  can  inspire  the  creative 
mind,  and  the  fire  of  sensual  feeling  kindles  and  preserves 
the  glow  and  fervour  of  art. 

This  explains  the  sensual  natures  of  great  poets  and 
artists. 

The  world  of  fancy  keeps  pace  with  the  development 
of  sexual  power.  Whoever  during  that  period  cannot  be 
animated  by  the  ideals  of  all  that  is  great,  noble  and 
beautiful  remains  a  "Philistine"  all  his  life.  Even  the 
dolt  tries  his  hand  at  poetry  when  in  love. 

On  the  borders  of  physiological  reaction  may  be 
observed  those  mysterious  processes  of  maturing  puberty, 
which    give   origin    to  obscure  yearnings  and   moods   of 

'  This  may  be  observed  in  the  actual  life  as  well  as  in  the  fiction  and 
the  plastic  arts  of  degonerato  eras.  For  instance,  Bernmi's  carving, 
which  roprosents  St.  Teresa  "  sinking  in  a  hysterical  faint  upon  a  marble 
cloud,  whilst  an  amorous  angel  plunges  the  arrow  (of  divine  love)  into  her 
heart.'' — Lilbke. 


12  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

despondency  and  Weltschmerz,  rendering  life  tedious,  and 
coupled  with  the  impulse  to  inflict  pain  and  sorrow  upon 
others  (weak  analogies  of  a  psychological  connection  be- 
tween lust  and  cruelty). 

First  love  for  ever  trends  in  a  romantic  idealising 
direction.  It  wraps  the  beloved  object  in  the  halo  of 
perfection.  In  its  incipient  stages  it  is  of  a  platonic 
character,  and  turns  rather  to  forms  of  poetry  and  history. 
With  the  approach  of  puberty  it  runs  the  risk  of  trans- 
ferring the  idealising  powers  upon  persons  of  the  opposite 
sex,  even  though  mentally,  physically  and  socially  they  be 
of  an  inferior  station.  To  this  may  easily  be  traced  many 
cases  of  misalliance,  abduction,  elopement  and  errors  of 
early  youth,  and  those  sad  tragedies  of  passionate  love  that 
are  in  conflict  with  the  principles  of  morality  or  social 
standing,  and  often  terminate  in  murder,  self-destruction, 
and  double  suicide. 

Purely  sensual  love  is  never  true  and  lasting,  for  which 
reason  first  love  is,  as  a  rule,  but  a  passing  infatuation,  a 
fleeting  passion. 

True  love  is  rooted  in  the  recognition  of  the  moral 
and  mental  qualities  of  the  beloved  person,  and  is  equally 
ready  to  share  pleasures  and  sorrows  and  even  to  make 
sacrifices.  True  love  shrinks  from  no  dangers  or  obstacles 
in  the  struggle  for  the  undisputed  possession  of  the  beloved. 

Deeds  of  daring  and  heroism  lie  in  its  wake.  But  un- 
less the  moral  foundation  be  solid  it  will  lead  to  crime, 
and  jealousy  often  mars  its  beauty. 

The  love  of  the  feeble-minded  is  based  upon  senti- 
mentality, and  when  unrequited  results  in  suicide. 

Sentimental  love  is  hkely  to  degenerate  into  a  burlesque, 
especially  when  the  sensual  element  lacks  force  {e.g.  the 
Knight  of  Joggenburg,  Don  Quixote,  and  many  of  the 
minstrels  and  troubadours  of  the  middle  ages). 

This  kind  of  love  is  nauseating  and  has  a  repulsive  or 
ludicrous  effect  on  others,  whilst  true  love  and  its  mani- 
festations command  sympathy,  respect,  and  even  fear. 


A  SYSTEM   OF   PSYCHOLOGY   OP   SEXUAL   LIFE.  13 

Love  when  weak  is  frequently  turned  away  from  its 
real  object  into  different  channels,  such  as  voluptuous 
poetry,  bizarre  aesthetics,  or  rehgion.  In  the  latter  case 
it  readily  falls  a  prey  to  mysticism,  fanaticism,  sectarianism 
or  religious  mania.  A  smattering  of  all  this  can  always 
be  found  in  the  immature  love  of  early  puberty.  The 
poetical  effusions  of  that  period  of  life  are  only  then 
worthy  of  perusal  when  emanating  from  the  pen  of  the 
truly  endowed  genius. 

Ethical  surroundings  are  necessary  in  order  to  elevate 
love  to  its  true  and  pure  form,  but,  notwithstanding 
sensuahty  will  ever  remain  its  principal  basis. 

Platonic  love  is  a  platitude,  a  misnomer  for  "  kindred 
spirits  ". 

Since  love  imphes  the  presence  of  sexual  desire  it  can 
only  exist  between  persons  of  different  sex  capable  of 
sexual  intercourse.  When  these  conditions  are  wantinsr 
or  destroyed  it  is  replaced  by  friendship. 

The  sexual  functions  of  man  exercise  a  very  marked 
influence  upon  the  development  and  preservation  of  char- 
acter. Manliness  and  self-reliance  are  not  the  qualities 
which  adorn  the  impotent  onanist. 

Gynrkovechky  ("  Mannl.  Impotenz,"  Wien,  1889)  is 
correct  in  his  observation  that  virility  establishes  the  ratio 
of  difference  between  old  men  and  young,  and  that  im- 
potence impairs  health,  mental  freshness,  activity,  self- 
confidence  and  imagination.  The  damage  stands  in 
proportion  to  the  age  of  the  subject  and  the  extent  of 
his  debauchery. 

The  sudden  loss  of  the  virile  powers  often  produces 
melancholia,  or  is  the  cause  of  suicide  when  life  without 
love  is  a  mere  blank. 

In  ca'-es  where  the  reaction  is  less  pronounced,  the 
victim  is  morose,  peevish,  egotistical,  jealous,  narrow- 
minded,  cowardly,  devoid  of  energy,  self-respect  and 
honour. 


14  PSYCnOPATIIIA   SEXUAI.IS. 

The  Skopzes  for  instance  after  castration  rapidly 
degenerate. 

This  m  itter  will  be  further  elucidated  under  the 
heading  of  "  Effeminatio  "  {v.  i.). 

In  the  sedate  matron  this  condition  is  of  minor  psy- 
chological importance,  though  it  is  noticeable.  The 
biological  change  affects  her  but  little  if  her  sexual  career 
has  been  successful,  and  loving  children  gladden  the  ma- 
ternal heart.  The  situation  is  different,  however,  where 
sterility  has  denied  that  happiness,  or  where  enforced 
celibacy  prevented  the  performance  of  the  natural  func- 
tions. 

These  facts  characterise  strongly  the  differences  that 
prevail  in  the  psychology  of  sexual  life  in  man  and 
woman,  and  the  dissimilarity  of  sexual  feeling  and  desire 
in  both. 

Man  has  beyond  doubt  the  stronger  sexual  appetite  of 
the  two.  From  the  period  of  pubescence  he  is  instinc- 
tively drawn  towards  woman.  His  love  is  sensual,  and 
his  choice  is  strongly  prejudiced  in  favour  of  physical 
attractions.  A  mighty  impulse  of  nature  makes  him 
aggressive  and  impetuous  in  his  courtsliip.  Yet  the  law 
of  nature  does  not  wholly  fill  his  psychic  being.  Having 
won  the  prize,  his  love  is  temporarily  eclipsed  by  other 
vital  and  social  interests. 

Woman,  however,  if  physically  and  mentally  normal, 
and  properly  educated,  has  but  little  sensual  desire.  If 
it  were  otherwise,  marriage  and  family  life  would  be 
empty  words.  As  yet  the  man  who  avoids  women,  and 
the  woman  who  seeks  men  are  sheer  anomalies. 

Woman  is  wooed  for  her  favour.  She  remains  passive. 
Her  sexual  organisation  demands  it,  and  the  dictates  of 
good  breeding  come  to  her  aid. 

Nevertheless,  sexual  consciousness  is  stronger  in 
woman  than  in  man.  Her  need  of  love  is  greater,  it 
is  continual  not  periodical,  but  her  love  is  more  spiritual 


A   SYSTEM    OF    PSYCHOLOGY    OF   SEXUAL    LIFE.  15 

than  sensual.  Man  primarily  loves  woinaij  as  his  wife, 
and  then  as  the  mother  of  his  children  ;  the  first  place  in 
woman's  heart  helon^s  to  the  father  of  her  child,  the 
second  to  him  as  husband.  Woman  is  influenced  in 
her  choice  more  by  mental  than  by  physical  qualities. 
As  mother  she  divides  her  love  between  offspring  and 
husband.  Sensuality  is  merged  in  the  mother's  love. 
Thereafter  the  wife  accepts  marital  intercourse  not  so 
much  as  a  sensual  gratification  than  as  a  proof  of  her  hus- 
band's affection. 

Woman  loves  with  her  whole  soul.  To  woman  love 
is  life,  to  man  it  is  the  joy  of  life.  Misfortune  in  love 
bruises  the  heart  of  man  ;  but  it  ruins  the  life  of  woman 
and  wrecks  her  happiness.  It  is  really  a  psychological 
question  worthy  of  consideration  whether  woman  can 
truly  love  twice  in  her  life.  Woman's  mind  certainly 
inclines  more  to  monogamy  than  that  of  man. 

In  the  sexual  demands  of  man's  nature  will  be  found 
the  motives  of  his  weakness  towards  woman.  He  is 
enslaved  by  her,  and  becomes  more  and  more  dependent 
upon  her  as  he  grows  weaker,  and  the  more  he  yields  to 
sensuality.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in  the  periods 
of  decline  and  luxury  sensuousness  was  the  predominant 
factor.  Whence  arises  the  social  danger  when  courtesans 
and  their  dependants  rule  the  State  and  finally  encompass 
its  ruin. 

History  shows  that  great  (states)men  have  often  been 
the  slaves  of  women  in  consequence  of  the  neuropathic 
conditions  of  their  constitution. 

It  shows  a  masterly  psychological  knowledge  of  human 
nature  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  enjoins  celibacy 
upon  its  priests  in  order  to  emancipate  them  from  sensu- 
ality, and  to  concentrate  their  entire  activity  in  the  pursuit 
of  their  calling.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  pity  that  the  celibate 
state  deprives  the  priest  of  the  ennobling  influence  exer- 
cised by  love  and  marital  life  upon  the  character. 

From  the  fact  that  by  nature  man  plays  the  aggressive 


16  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

rdle  in  sexual  life,  he  is  exposed  to  the  danger  of  over- 
stepping the  limits  set  by  law  and  morality. 

The  unfaithfulness  of  the  wife,  as  compared  with 
that  of  the  husband,  is  morally  of  much  wider  bearing, 
and  should  always  meet  with  severer  punishment  at  the 
hands  of  the  law.  The  unfaithful  wife  not  only  dishon- 
ours herself,  but  also  her  husband  and  her  family,  not  to 
speak  of  the  possible  uncertainty  of  paternity. 

Natural  instincts  and  social  position  are  frequent 
causes  of  disloyalty  in  man  (the  husband),  whilst  the 
wife  is  surrounded  by  many  protecting  influences. 

Sexual  intercourse  is  of  different  import  to  the  spinster 
and  to  the  bachelor.  Society  claims  of  the  latter  modesty, 
but  exacts  of  the  former  chastity  as  well.  Modern  civil- 
isation concedes  only  to  the  wife  that  exalted  position,  in 
which  woman  sexually  furthers  the  moral  interests  of 
society. 

The  ultimate  aim,  the  ideal,  of  woman,  even  when  she 
is  dragged  in  the  mire  of  vice,  ever  is  and  will  be  marriage. 
Woman,  as  Mantegazza  properly  observes,  seeks  not  only 
gratification  of  sensual  desires,  but  also  protection  and 
support  for  herself  and  her  offspring.  No  matter  how 
sensual  man  may  be,  unless  also  thoroughly  depraved,  he 
seeks  for  a  consort  only  that  woman  whose  chastity  he 
cannot  doubt. 

The  emblem  and  ornament  of  woman  aspiring  to  this 
state,  truly  worthy  of  herself,  is  modesty,  so  beautifully 
defined  by  Mantegazza  as  "one  of  the  forms  of  physical 
self-esteem  ". 

To  discuss  here  the  evolution  of  this,  the  most  graceful 
of  virtues  in  woman,  is  out  of  place,  but  most  likely  it  is 
an  outgrowth  of  the  gradual  rise  of  civilisation. 

A  remarkable  contrast  may  be  found  in  the  occasional 
exposure  of  physical  charms,  conventionally  sanctioned  by 
the  world  of  fashion,  in  which  even  the  most  discreet 
maiden  will  indulge  when  robed  for  the  ball-room,  theatre, 
or  similiar  social  functions.    Although  the  reasons  for  such 


A   SYSTEM   OF   PSYCHOLOGY   OF    SEXUAL   LIFE.  17 

a  display  are  obvious,  the  modest  woman  is  fortunately 
no  more  conscious  of  them,  than  of  the  motives  which 
underlie  periodical  fashions  that  bring  certain  forms  of 
the  body  into  undue  prominence,  to  say  nothing  of 
corsets,  etc. 

In  all  times,  and  among  all  races,  the  women  are  fond 
of  toilet  and  finery.  In  the  animal  kingdom  nature  has 
distinguished  the  male  with  the  greater  beauty.  Men 
designate  women  as  the  beautiful  sex,  a  gallantry  which 
clearly  arises  from  their  sensual  requirements.  So  long 
as  woman  seeks  only  self-gratification  in  this  personal 
adornment,  and  so  long  as  she  remains  unconscious  of 
the  psychological  reasons  for  thus  making  herself  attrac- 
tive, no  objection  can  be  raised  against  it,  but  when  done 
with  the  fixed  purpose  to  please  men  it  degenerates  into 
coquetry. 

Under  analogous  circumstances  man  would  make  him- 
self ridiculous. 

Woman  far  surpasses  man  in  the  natural  psychology 
of  love,  partly  because  evolution  and  training  have  made 
love  her  proper  element,  and  partly  because  she  is  ani- 
mated by  more  refined  feelings  {Mantegazza). 

Even  the  best  of  breeding  concedes  to  man  that  he 
looks  upon  woman  mainly  as  a  means  by  which  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  his  natural  instinct,  though  it  confines 
him  only  to  the  woman  of  his  choice.  Thus  civilisation 
establishes  a  binding  social  contract  which  is  called  mar- 
riage, and  grants  by  legal  statutes  protection  and  support 
to  the  wife  and  her  issue. 

It  is  important,  and  on  account  of  certain 4)athological 
manifestations  (to  be  referred  to  later  on)  indispensable,  to 
examine  into  those  psychological  events  which  draw  man 
and  woman  into  that  close  union  which  concentrates  the 
fulness  of  affection  upon  the  beloved  one  only,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  all  other  persons  of  the  same  sex. 

If  one  could  demonstrate  design  in  the  processes  of 
nature — adaptation  cannot  be  denied  them — then  the  fact 


18  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

of  fascination  by  one  person  of  the  opposite  sex  with  in- 
difference towards  all  others,  as  it  occurs  between  true 
and  happy  lovers,  would  appear  as  a  wonderful  provision 
to  ensure  monogamy  for  the  promotion  of  its  object. 

The  scientific  observer  finds  in  this  loving  bond  of 
hearts  by  no  means  simply  a  mystery  of  souls,  but  he  can 
refer  it  nearly  always  to  certain  physical  or  mental  pecu- 
harities  by  which  the  attracting  power  is  qualified. 

Hence  the  words  fetich  and  fetichism.  The  word 
fetich  signifies  an  object,  or  parts  or  attributes  of  objects, 
which  by  virtue  of  association  to  sentiment,  personality,  or 
absorbing  ideas,  exert  a  charm  (the  Portuguese  "  fetisso  "), 
(jr  at  least  produce  a  peculiar  individual  impression  which 
is  in  no  wise  connected  with  the  external  appearance  of 
the  sign,  symbol  or  fetich.^ 

The  individual  valuation  of  the  fetich  extending  even 
to  unreasoning  enthusiasm  is  called  fetichism.  This  in- 
teresting psychological  phenomenon  may  be  explained  by 
an  empiricial  law  of  association,  i.e.,  the  relation  existing 
between  the  notion  itself  and  the  parts  thereof  which  are 
essentially  active  in  the  production  of  pleasurable  emotions. 
It  is  most  commonly  found  in  religious  and  erotic  spheres. 
lielifjious  fetichism  finds  its  original  motive  in  the  delusion 
that  its  object,  i.e.,  the  idol,  is  not  a  mere  symbol,  but 
possesses  divine  attributes,  and  ascribes  to  it  peculiar 
wonder-working  (relics)  or  protective  (amulets)  virtues. 

Erotic  fetichism  makes  an  idol  of  physical  or  mental 
qualities  of  a  person  or  even  merely  of  objects  used  by 
that  person,  etc.,  because  they  awaken  mighty  associations 
with  the  bel^jved  person,  thus  originating  strong  emotions 
of  sexual  pleasure.  Analogies  with  religious  fetichism 
are  always  discernible ;  for,  in  the  latter,  the  most  in- 
significant objects  (hair,  nails,  bones,  etc.)  become  at 
times  fetiches  which  produce  feelings  of  delight  and  even 
ecstasy. 

^  Cf.  Max  Mullcr  who  derives  the  word  teticli  etymologically  from 
faciitius,  i.e.,  artificial,  iusiguificaut. 


A    SYSTEM    OF    PSYCIiOLOGy    OF    SEXUAL    LIFE.  19 

The  germ  of  sexual  love  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the 
individual  charm  (fetich)  with  which  persons  of  opposite 
sex  sway  each  other 

The  case  is  simple  enough  when  the  sight  of  a  person 
of  the  opposite  sex  occurs  simultaneously  with  sexual 
excitement,  whereby  the  latter  is  intensified. 

Emotional  and  optical  impressions  combine  and  are 
so  deeply  embedded  in  the  mind  that  a  recurring  sensation 
awakens  the  visual  memory  and  causes  renewed  sexual 
excitement,  even  orgasm  and  pollution  (often  only  in 
dreams),  in  which  case  the  physical  appearance  acts  as 
a  fetich. 

Binet,  inter  alia,  contends  that  mere  peculiarities, 
whether  physical  or  mental,  may  have  the  effect  of  the 
fetich,  if  their  perception  coincides  with  sexual  emotion. 

Experience  shows  that  chance  controls  in  a  large 
measure  this  mental  association,  that  the  nature  of  the 
fetich  varies  with  the  personality  of  the  individual,  thus 
arousing  the  oddest  sympathies  or  antipathies. 

These  physiological  facts  of  fetichism  often  account 
for  the  affections  that  suddenly  arise  between  man  and 
woman,  the  preference  of  a  certain  person  to  all  others 
of  the  same  sex.  Since  the  fetich  assumes  the  form  of 
a  distinctive  mark  it  is  clear  that  its  effect  can  only  be 
of  an  individual  character.  Being  accentuated  by  the 
strongest  feelings  of  pleasure,  it  follows,  that  existing  faults 
in  the  beloved  are  overlooked  ("Love  is  Wind")  and  an 
infatuation  is  produced  which  appears  incomprehensible 
or  silly  to  others.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  devoted 
lover  who  worships  and  invests  his  love  with  quahties 
which  in  reality  do  not  exist,  is  looked  upon  by  others 
simi.ly  as  mad.  Thus  love  exhibits  itself  now  as  a  mere 
passion,  now  as  a  pronounced  psychical  anomaly  which 
attains  what  seemed  impossible,  renders  the  ugly  beautiful, 
the  profane  sublime,  and  obliterates  all  consciousness  of 
existing  duties  towards  others. 

Tarda  ("Archives  de  I'Anthropologie  Criminolle,"  vol. 


20  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

v.,  No.  30)  argues  that  the  type  of  this  fetich(ism)  varies 
with  persons  as  well  as  with  nations,  but  that  the  ideal 
of  beauty  remains  the  same  among  civilised  peoples  of  the 
same  era. 

Binet  has  more  thoroughly  analysed  and  studied  this 
fetichism  of  love. 

From  it  springs  the  particular  choice  for  slender  or 
plump  forms,  for  blondes  or  brunettes,  for  particular  form 
or  colour  of  the  eyes,  tone  of  the  voice,  odour  of  the  hair 
or  body  (even  artificial  perfume),  shape  of  the  hand,  foot 
or  ear,  etc.,  which  constitute  the  individual  charm,  the 
first  link  in  a  complicated  chain  of  mental  processes,  all 
converging  in  that  one  focus,  love,  i.e.,  the  physical  and 
mental  possession  of  the  beloved. 

This  fact  establishes  the  existence  of  physiological 
fetichism. 

Without  showing  a  pathological  condition  the  fetich 
may  exercise  its  power  so  long  as  its  leading  qualities 
represent  the  integral  parts,  and  so  long  as  the  love  en- 
gendered by  it  comprises  the  entire  mental  and  physical 
personality. 

Normal  love  can  only  be  synthetic,  a  generalisation. 
Max  Dessoir  (pseudonym  Ludwig  Brunn)  ^  in  an  article, 
"  The  Fetichism  of  Love,"  cleverly  says : — 

"  Normal  love  appears  to  us  as  a  symphony  of  tones 
of  all  kinds.  It  is  roused  by  the  most  varied  agencies. 
It  is,  so  to  speak,  polytheistic.  Fetichism  recognises 
only  the  tone-colour  of  a  single  instrument ;  it  issues 
forth  from  a  single  motive ;  it  is  monotheistic." 

Even  moderate  thought  will  carry  the  conviction  that 
the  term  real  love  (so  often  misused)  can  only  apply 
where  the  entire  person  of  the  beloved  becomes  the  phy- 
sical and  mental  object  of  veneration. 

Of  course,  there  is  always  a  sensual  element  in  love, 
i.e.,  the  desire  to  enjoy  the  full  possession  of  the  beloved 
object,  and,  in  union  with  it,  to  fulfil  the  laws  of  nature. 

1 "  Deutsclies  Montagsblatt,"  Berlin  20,  8,  80 


A   SYSTEM   OF   PSYCHOLOGY   OF    SEXUAL    LIFE.  2] 

But  where  the  body  of  the  beloved  person  is  made 
the  sole  object  of  love,  or  if  sexual  pleasure  only  is  sought 
without  regard  to  the  communion  of  soul  and  mind,  true 
love  does  not  exist.  Neither  is  it  found  among  the  disciples 
of  Plato,  who  love  the  soul  only  and  despise  sexual  en- 
joyment. In  the  one  case  the  body  is  the  fetich,  in  the 
other  the  soul,  and  love  is  fetichism. 

Instances  such  as  these  represent  simply  transitions 
to  pathological  fetichism. 

This  assumption  is  enlianced  by  another  criterion  of 
true  love,  viz.,  the  mental  satisfaction  derived  from  the 
sexual  act.^ 

A  striking  phenomenon  in  fetichism  is  that  among 
the  many  things  which  may  serve  as  fetiches  there  are 
some  which  gain  that  significance  more  commonly  than 
others ;  for  instance,  the  hair,  the  hand,  the  foot  of 
woman,  or  the  expression  of  the  eye.  This  is  important 
in  the  pathology  of  fetichism. 

Woman  certainly  seems  to  be  more  or  less  conscious 
of  these  facts.  For  she  devotes  great  attention  to  her 
hair  and  often  spends  an  unreasonable  amount  of  time 

^  Magnan's  "spinal  cerebral  posterieur"  who  finds  gratification  with 
any  sort  of  woman,  is  only  animated  by  lust.  Meretricious  love  that  is 
purchased  cannot  be  genuine  {Mantegazza).  Whoever  coined  the  adage: 
"  Sublata  lucerna  muUum  discrimen  inter  feminas,"  was  a  cynic,  indeed. 
The  power  to  perform  love's  act  is  by  no  means  a  guarantee  of  the  noblest 
enjoyment  of  love. 

There  are  urnings  who  are  potent  for  women — men  who  do  not  love 
their  wives,  but  are  nevertheless  able  to  perform  the  marital  "duty  ".  In 
the  majority  of  these  cases  even  lustful  pleasure  is  absent ;  for  it  is  simply 
an  onanistic  act  rendered  possible  by  the  aid  of  imagination  which  sub- 
stitutes another  beloved  being.  This  deception  may,  indeed,  superinduce 
sexual  pleasure,  but,  rudimentary  gratification  as  it  is,  it  can  only  arise 
from  a  psychic  trick,  just  as  in  solitary  onanism  voluptuous  satisfac- 
tion is  obtained  chiefly  with  the  assistance  of  fancy.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  that  degree  of  orgasm  which  completes  the  lustful  act  is  entirely 
dependent  upon  the  intervention  of  fancy. 

Where  psychic  impediments  exist  (such  as  indifference,  disgust, 
aversion,  fear  of  contagion  or  impregnation,  etc.)  the  feeling  of  sexual 
gratification  seems  to  be  wanting  altogether. 


22  PSYCHOrATniA   sexualis. 

and  money  upon  its  cultivation.  How  carefully  the 
mother  looks  after  her  little  daughter's  hair !  What  an 
important  part  the  hairdresser  plays  !  The  falling  out  of 
the  hair  causes  despair  to  many  a  young  lady.  The 
author  remembers  the  case  of  a  vain  woman  who  fell 
into  melanchoHa  on  account  of  this  trouble,  and  finally 
committed  suicide.  A  favourite  subject  of  conversation 
among  ladies  is  coijf^ires.  They  are  envious  of  each 
other's  luxuriant  tresses. 

Beautiful  hair  is  a  mighty  fetich  with  many  men.  In 
the  legend  of  the  Lorelei,  who  lured  men  to  destruction, 
the  "golden  hair"  which  she  combs  with  a  golden  comb 
appears  as  a  fetich.  Frequently  the  hand  or  the  foot 
possesses  an  attractiveness  no  less  powerful ;  but  in  these 
instances  masochistic  and  sadistic  feelings  often — though 
not  always — assist  in  determining  the  peculiar  kind  of 
fetich. 

By  a  transference  through  association  of  ideas,  gloves 
or  shoes  obtain  the  significance  of  a  fetich. 

Max  Dessoir  {op.  cit.)  points  out  that  among  the  cus- 
toms of  the  middle  ages  diinking  from  the  shoe  of  a 
beautiful  woman  (still  to  be  found  in  Poland)  played  a 
remarkable  part  in  gallantry  and  homage.  The  shoe  also 
plays  an  important  role  in  the  legend  of  Aschenbrodel. 

The  expression  of  the  eye  is  particularly  important 
as  a  means  of  kindling  the  spark  of  love.  A  neuropathic 
eye  frequently  affects  persons  of  either  sex  as  a  fetich. 
"Madame,  vos  beaux  yeux  me  font  mourir  d'amour." 
{Moliere). 

There  are  many  examples  showing  that  odours  of  the 
body  become  fetiches. 

This  fact  is  taken  advantage  of  in  the  "  Ars  amandi  " 
by  woman  either  consciously  or  unconsciously.  Ruth 
sought  to  attract  Boaz  by  perfuming  herself.  The  demi- 
monde of  ancient  and  modern  times  is  noted  for  its  lavish 
use  of  strong  scents.  Jdger,  in  his  "  Discovery  of  the 
Soul,"  calls  attention  to  many  olfactory  sympathies. 


A    SYSTEM    OF    PSYCHOLOGY    OF    SEXUAL    LIFE.  23 

Cases  are  known  where  men  have  married  ugly  women 
solely  because  their  personal  odours  were  exceedingly 
pleasing. 

Binct  makes  it  probable  that  the  voice  also  may  act  as 
a  fetich. 

Belot  in  his  novel  "  Les  baigneuses  de  Trouville" 
makes  the  same  assertion.  Binet  thinks  that  many 
marriages  with  singers  are  due  to  the  fetich  (^f  their 
voices.  He  also  observes  that  among  the  singing  birds 
the  voice  has  the  same  sexual  significance  as  odours 
among  the  quadrupeds.  The  birds  allure  by.  their  song, 
and  the  male  that  sings  most  beautifully  is  joined  at  night 
by  the  charmed  mate. 

The  pathological  facts  of  masochism  and  sadism  show 
that  mental  peculiarities  may  also  act  as  fetiches  but  in  a 
wider  sense. 

Thus  the  fact  of  idiosyncrasies  is  explained,  and  the 
old  proverb  "  De  cjustihus  non  est  disputandum  "  retains  its 
force. 

With  regard  to  fetichism  in  woman,  science  must  at 
least  for  the  present  time  be  content  with  mere  con- 
jectures. This  much  seems  to  be  certain,  that  being  a 
a  physiological  factor,  its  effects  are  analogous  to  those 
in  men,  i.e.,  producing  sexual  sympathies  towards  persons 
of  the  same  sex. 

Details  will  come  to  our  knowledge  only  when  medical 
women  enter  into  the  study  of  this  subject. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted  that  the  physical  as  well 
as  the  mental  qualities  of  man  assume  the  form  of  the 
female  fetich.  In  most  cases,  no  doubt,  physical  attributes 
in  the  male  exercise  this  power  without  regard  to  the 
existence  of  conscious  sensuality.  On  the  other  hand  it 
will  be  found  that  the  mental  superiority  of  man  con- 
stitutes the  attractive  power  where  physical  beauty  is 
wanting.  In  the  upper  "strata"  of  society  this  is  more 
apparent,  even  if  we  disregard  the  enormous  influence 
exercised    by    "blue    l)lood"    and    high    breeding.       The 


24  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

possibility  that  superior  intellectual  development  favours 
advantcement  in  social  position,  and  opens  the  way  to  a 
brilliant  career,  does  not  seem  to  v^^eigh  heavily  in  the 
balance  of  judgment. 

The  fetichism  of  body  and  mind  is  of  importance  in 
progeneration ;  it  favours  the  selection  of  the  fittest  and 
the  transmission  of  physical  and  mental  virtues. 

Generally  speaking  the  follov^ing  masculine  virtues 
impose  on  v^oman,  viz.,  physical  strength,  courage,  nobility 
of  mind,  chivalry,  self-confidence,  even  self-assertion,  inso- 
lence, bravado,  and  a  conscious  show  of  mastery  over  the 
weaker  sex. 

A  "Don  Juan"  impresses  many  women  and  elicits 
admiration,  for  he  establishes  the  proof  of  his  virile  powers, 
although  the  inexperienced  maiden  can  in  no  wise  suspect 
the  many  risks  of  lues  and  chronic  urethritis  she  runs 
from  a  marital  union  with  this  otherwise  interestincr 
rake. 

The  successful  actor,  musician,  or  vocal  artiste,  the 
circus  rider,  the  athlete,  and  even  the  criminal,  often  fasci- 
nate the  bread  and  butter  miss  as  well  as  the  maturer 
woman.  At  any  rate  women  rave  over  them,  and  inun- 
date them  with  love  letters. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  female  heart  has  pre- 
dominant weakness  for  military  uniforms,  that  of  the 
cavalry-man  ever  having  the  preference. 

The  hair  of  man,  especially  the  beard,  the  emblem  of 
virility,  the  secondary  symbol  of  generative  power — is  a 
predominant  fetich  with  woman.  In  the  measure  in 
which  women  bestow  special  care  upon  the  cultivation 
of  their  hair,  men  who  seek  to  attract  and  please  women, 
cultivate  the  elegant  growth  of  the  beard,  and  especially 
that  of  the  moustache. 

The  eye  as  well  as  the  voice  exert  the  same  charm. 
Singers  of  renown  easily  touch  woman's  heart.  They  are 
overwhelmed  with  love  letters  and  offers  of  marriage. 
Tenors  have  a  decided  advantage. 


A   SYSTEM   OF   PSYCHOLOGY    OF   SEXUAL    LIFE.  25 

Binet  (op  cit.)  refers  to  an  observation  of  this  character 
made  by  Dumas  in  his  novel  "La  maison  du  vent".  A 
woman  who  falls  in  love  with  a  tenor-voice  loses  her 
virtue. 

'J  he  author  has  thus  far  not  succeeded  in  obtaining 

O 

facts  with  regard  to  pathological  fetichism  io  woman. 


II.  PHYSIOLOGICAL  FACTS. 

During  the  time  of  the  physiological  processes  in  the 
reproductive  glands,  desires  arise  in  the  consciousness  of 
the  individual,  vi^hich  have  for  their  purpose  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  species  (sexual  instinct). 

Sexual  desire  during  the  years  of  sexual  maturity  is  a 
physiological  law.  The  duration  of  the  physiological  pro- 
cesses in  the  sexual  organs,  as  well  as  the  strength  of  the 
sexual  desire  manifested,  vary,  both  in  individuals  and  in 
races.  Eace,  climate,  heredity  and  social  circumstances 
have  a  very  decided  influence  upon  it.  The  greater  sensu- 
ality of  southern  races  as  compared  with  the  sexual  needs 
of  those  of  the  north  is  well  known.  Sexual  development 
in  the  inhabitants  of  tropical  climes  takes  place  much 
earlier  than  in  those  of  more  northern  regions.  In  women 
of  northern  countries  ovulation,  recognisable  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  body  and  the  occurrence  of  a  periodical 
flow  of  blood  from  the  genitals  (menstruation),  usually 
begins  about  the  thirteenth  to  the  fifteenth  year ;  in  men 
puberty,  recognisable  in  the  deepening  of  the  voice,  the 
appearance  of  hair  on  the  face  and  mons  veneris,  and  the 
occasional  occurrence  of  pollutions,  etc.,  takes  place  about 
the  fifteenth  year.  In  the  inhabitants  of  tropical  countries, 
however,  sexual  development  obtains  several  years  earlier 
in  women — sometimes  as  early  as  the  eighth  year. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  girls  who  live  in  cities 
develop  about  a  year  earlier  than  girls  living  in  the 
country,  and  that  the  larger  the  town  the  earlier,  ceteris 
paribus,  the  development  takes  place. 

Heredity,  however,  has  no  small    influence  on  libido 

(26) 


PHYSIOLOGICAL    FACTS.  27 

and  sexual  power.  Thus  there  are  famihcs  in  which, 
with  threat  physical  strenf^th  and  longevity,  great  libido 
and  virility  are  preserved  until  a  great  age,  while  in  other 
families  the  vita  sexualis  develops  late  and  is  early  ex- 
tinguished. 

In  woman  the  period  of  activity  of  the  reproductive 
glands  is  shorter  than  in  man,  in  whom  sexual  power 
may  last  until  a  great  age ;  ovulation  ceases  about  thirty 
years  after  puberty.  The  period  of  waning  activity  of  the 
ovaries  is  called  the  change  of  life  {climacterium,  meno- 
paiise).  This  biological  phase  does  not  represent  merely 
a  cessation  of  functional  potency  and  final  atrophy  of  the 
reproductive  organs,  but  a  transformation  of  the  whole 
organism. 

In  Middle  Europe  the  sexual  maturity  of  man  begins 
about  the  eighteenth  year,  and  virility  reaches  its  acme 
at  forty.  After  that  age  it  slowly  declines.  The  potentia 
gencrandi  ceases  usually  at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  but  po- 
tcntia  coeundi  may  be  present  much  longer. 

The  existence  of  the  sexual  instinct  is  continuous 
during  the  time  of  sexual  hfe,  but  it  varies  in  intensity. 
Under  physiological  conditions  it  is  never  periodical  in  the 
human  male,  as  it  is  in  animals ;  it  manifests  an  organic 
variation  of  intensity  in  consonance  with  the  collection 
and  expenditure  of  semen.  In  woman  the  degree  of  sexual 
desire  coincides  with  the  process  of  ovulation  in  such  a  way 
that  libido  sexualis  is  intensified  after  the  menstrual  period. 

Sexual  instinct — as  emotion,  idea  and  impulse — is  a 
function  of  the  cerebral  cortex.  Thus  far  no  definite 
region  of  the  cortex  has  been  proved  to  be  exclusively 
the  seat  of  sexual  sensations  and  impulses.  This  psycho- 
sexual  centre  is  nothing  more  than  a  junction  and  crossing 
of  principal  paths  which  lead  on  the  one  hand  to  the  sensi- 
tive motor  apparatus  of  the  sexual  organs,  and  on  the  other 
hand  to  those  nerve  centres  of  the  visual  and  olfactory 
organs  which  are  the  carriers  of  that  consciousness  which 
distinguishes  between  the  "male"  and  the  "  female  ". 


28  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Owing  to  the  close  relations  which  exist  between  the 
sexual  instinct  and  the  olfactory  sense/  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  sexual  and  olfactory  centres  lie  close 
together  in  the  cerebral  cortex.  The  development  of 
sexual  life  has  its  beginning  in  the  organic  sensations 
which  arise  from  the  maturing  reproductive  glands.  These 
excite  the  attention  of  the  individual.  Reading  and  the 
experiences  of  every-day  life  (which,  unfortunately,  are 
now-a-days  too  early  and  too  frequently  suggestive),  con- 
vert these  notions  into  clear  ideas,  which  are  accentuated 
by  organic  sensations  of  a  pleasurable  character.  With 
this  accentuation  of  erotic  ideas  through  lustful  feelings, 
an  impulse  to  induce  them  is  developed  (sexual  desire). 

Thus  there  is  established  a  mutual  dependence  between 
the  cerebral  cortex  (as  the  place  of  origin  of  sensations 
and  ideas),  and  the  reproductive  organs.  The  latter,  by 
reason  of  physiological  processes  (hypereemia,  secretion  of 
semen,  ovulation),  give  rise  to  sexual  ideas,  images,  and 
impulses. 

The  cerebral  cortex,  by  means  of  preconceived  or  re- 
produced sensual  ideas,  reacts  on  the  reproductive  organs, 
including  hyperaemia,  production  of  semen,  erection,  ejacu- 
lation. This  is  effected  by  means  of  centres  for  vasomotor 
innervation  and  ejaculation,  which  are  situated  in  the 
lumbar  regions  of  the  cord,  and  lie  close  together.  Both 
are  reflex  centres. 

The  centre  of  erection  {Goltz,  Eckhard)  is  an  inter- 
mediate station  placed  between  the  brain  and  the  genital 
apparatus.  The  nervous  paths  which  connect  it  with  the 
brain  probably  run  through  the  pedunculi  cerebri  and  the 
pons.  This  centre  may  be  excited  by  central  (psychical 
and  organic)  stimuli,  by  direct  irritation  of  the  nerve-tract 
in  the  pedunculis  cerebri,  pons,  or  cervical  portion  of  the 

^The  olfactory  centre  is  presumed  by  Ferrier  ("Functions  of  the 
Brain")  to  be  in  the  region  of  the  gyrus  icncinatus.  Zuckerkandl  ("  Ueber 
das  Riechcentrum,"  1837),  from  researches  in  comparative  anatomy,  con- 
cludes that  the  olfactory  centre  has  its  seat  in  the  Hippocampus  major. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL   FACTS.  29 

cord,  as  well  as  by  peripheral  irritation  of  the  sensory 
nerves  (penis,  clitoris  and  annexa).  It  is  not  directly  sub- 
ordinated to  the  will. 

The  excitation  of  this  centre  is  conveyed  to  the  corpora 
cavernosa  by  means  of  nerves  {nervi  erigentes — Eckhard) 
running  into  the  first  three  sacral  nerves. 

The  action  of  the  nervi  erigentes,  which  renders  erec- 
tion possible,  is  inhibitory  in  so  far  as  it  inhibits  the 
ganghonic  nervous  mechanism  in  the  corpora  cavernosa, 
upon  the  action  of  which  the  smooth  muscle-fibres  of  the 
corpora  cavernosa  are  dependent  (ZoZZi/cer  a,nd  Kohlrausch) . 
Under  the  influence  of  the  action  of  the  nervi  erigentes, 
these  fibres  of  the  corpora  cavernosa  become  relaxed,  and 
their  spaces  fill  with  blood.  Simultaneously,  as  a  result 
of  the  dilatation  of  the  capillary  net-work  of  the  corpora 
cavernosa,  pressure  is  exerted  upon  the  veins  of  the  penis 
and  the  return  of  blood  is  impeded.  This  effect  is  aided 
by  the  contraction  of  the  hulho  cavernosus  and  Erector  penis 
muscles,  which  extend  by  means  of  an  aponeurosis  over 
the  dorsal  surface  of  the  penis. 

The  erection-centre  is  under  the  influence  of  both 
exciting  and  inhibitory  innervation  arising  from  the  cere- 
brum. Ideas  and  sense-perceptions  of  sexual  content 
have  an  exciting  effect.  According  to  observations  made 
on  men  that  have  been  hung,  it  is  evident  that  the 
erection-centre  may  also  be  aroused  by  excitation  of  the 
tract  in  the  spinal  cord.  Observations  on  the  insane  and 
those  suffering  with  cerebral  disease  show  that  this  is 
also  possible  as  a  result  of  organic  irritation  in  the 
cerebral  cortex  (psycho-sexual  centre?).  Spinal  diseases 
(tabes,  especially  myelitis)  affecting  the  lumbar  portion 
of  the  cord,  in  their  earlier  stages,  may  directly  excite 
the  erection-centre. 

Keflex  excitation  of  the  centre  is  possible  and  frequent 
in  the  following  ways  :  by  irritation  of  the  (^peripheral) 
sensory  nerves  of  the  genitals  and  surrounding  parts  by 
friction  ;  by  irritation  of  the  urethra  (gonorrhoea),  of  the 


30  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

rectum  (hoomorrhoids,  oxyuris),  of  the  bladder  (distension 
with  urine,  especially  in  the  morning ;  irritation  of  cal- 
culi); by  distension  of  the  vesicula3  senjinales  with  semen; 
by  hyperaemia  of  the  genitals,  occasioned  by  lying  on  the 
back  and  thus  inducing  pressure  of  the  intestines  upon 
the  blood-vessels  of  the  pelvis. 

The  erection-centre  may  also  be  excited  by  irritation 
of  the  nervous  ganglia  which  are  so  abundant  in  the 
prostatic  tissue  (prostatitis,  introduction  of  catheter,  etc.). 

The  experiment  of  Goltz,  according  to  whom,  when 
(in  dogs)  the  lumbar  portion  of  the  cord  is  severed, 
erection  is  more  easily  induced,  shows  that  the  erection- 
centre  is  also  subject  to  inhibitory  influences  from  the 
brain. 

In  men  the  fact  that  will-power  and  emotions,  (fear  of 
unsuccessful  coitus,  surprise  inter  actum  scx7ialem,  etc.) 
may  inhibit  the  occurrence  of  erection,  and  cause  it,  when 
present,  to  disappear,  also  indicates  this. 

The  duration  of  erection  is  dependent  upon  the  dura- 
tion of  its  exciting  causes  (sensory  stimuli),  the  absence 
of  inhibitory  influences,  the  nervous  energy  of  the  centre, 
and  the  early  or  late  occurrence  of  ejaculation  {v.  infra). 

The  central  point  of  sexual  mechanism  is  the  cerebral 
cortex.  It  is  justifiable  to  presume  that  there  is  a  definite 
region  of  the  cortex  (cerebral  centre),  which  gives  rise  to 
sexual  feehngs,  ideas  and  impulses,  and  is  the  place  of 
origin  of  the  psycho-somatic  processes  which  we  designate 
as  sexual  life,  sexual  instinct,  and  sexual  desire.  This 
centre  is  susceptible  to  both  central  ari,d  peripheral  stimuli. 

Central  stimuH,  in  the  form  of  organic  excitation,  may 
be  due  to  diseases  of  the  cerebral  cortex.  Physiologically 
they  are  dominated  by  psychical  impressions  (memory  and 
sensory  perceptions,  lascivious  stories,  touch,  pressure  of 
the  hand,  kiss,  etc.).  Auditory  and  olfactory  perceptions 
certainly  play  but  a  veiy  subordinate  role.  Under  patho- 
logical conditions  {v.  infra),  the  latter  have  a  very  decided 
influence  in  inducing  sexual  excitement. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL    FACTS.  31 

In  beasts  the  influence  of  olfactory  perception  on  the 
sexual  sense  is  unmistakable.  AUhmis  ("  Beitraij^e  zur 
Ph3^siol.  und  Pathol,  des  Olfactorius,"  "  Archiv  fiir  Psych." 
xii.,  H.  1)  declares  that  the  sense -of  smell  is  important 
with  reference  to  the  reproduction  of  the  species.  He 
shows  that  animals  of  opposite  sexes  are  drawn  to  each 
other  by  means  of  olfactory  perception,  and  that  almost 
all  animals,  at  the  time  of  rutting,  emit  a  specially  distinct 
odour  from  their  genitals.  An  experiment  by  Schiff  is 
confirmatory  of  this.  He  extirpated  the  olfactory  nerves 
in  puppies,  and  found  that,  as  the  animals  grew  up,  the 
male  was  unable  to  distinguish  the  female.  Again,  an 
experiment  by  Mantegazza  ("Hygiene  of  Love"),  who  re- 
moved the  eyes  of  rabbits  and  found  that  the  defect  con- 
stituted no  obstacle  to  procreation,  shows  how  important 
in  animals  the  olfactory  sense  is  for  the  vita  sexualis. 

It  is  also  remarkable  that  many  animals  (musk-ox, 
civet-cat,  beaver),  possess  on  their  sexual  organs,  glands 
which  secrete  substances  having  a  very  strong  odour. 

AUhaus  also  shows  that  in  man  there  are  certain  re- 
lations existing  between  the  olfactory  and  sexual  senses. 
He  mentions  Gloquet  ("  Osphresiologie,"  Paris,  182G),  who 
calls  attention  to  the  sensual  pleasure  excited  by  the  odour 
of  flowers,  and  tells  how  Richelieu  lived  in  an  atmosphere 
laden  with  the  heaviest  perfumes,  in  order  to  excite  his 
sexual  functions. 

ZipjjG  ("Wien.  Med.  Wochenschrift,"  1879,  No.  24), 
in  connection  with  a  case  of  kleptomania  in  an  onanist, 
likewise  establishes  such  relations,  and  cites  Hildebrand  as 
authority,  who  in  his  popular  physiology  says  :  "It  can- 
not be  doubted  that  the  olfactory  sense  stands  in  remote 
connection  with  the  sexual  apparatus.  Odours  of  flowers 
often  occasion  pleasurable  sensual  feelings,  and  when  one 
remembers  the  passage  in  the  '  Song  of  Solomon,'  '  And 
my  hands  dropped  with  myrrh,  and  my  fingers  with  sweet- 
smelling  myrrh,  upon  the  handles  of  the  lock,'  one  finds 
that   it  did    not   escape    Sol(.nnon's    observation.     In  the 


32  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS, 

Orient  the  pleasant  perfumes  are  esteemed  for  their  re- 
lation to  the  sexual  organs,  and  the  women's  apartments 
of  the  Sultan  are  redolent  with  the  fragrance  of  flowers.'' 
Most,  professor  in  Eostock  (c/.  Zippe),  relates:  "I 
learned  from  a  sensual  young  peasant  that  he  had  excited 
many  a  chaste  girl  sexually,  and  easily  gained  his  end, 
by  carrying  his  handkerchief  in  his  axilla  for  a  time,  while 
dancing,  and  then  wiping  his  partner's  perspiring  face 
with  it ". 

The  case  of  Henry  HI.  shows  that  contact  with  a 
person's  perspiration  may  be  the  exciting  cause  of  passion- 
ate love.  At  the  betrothal  feast  of  the  King  of  Navarre 
and  Margaret  of  Valois,  he  accidently  dried  his  face  with 
a  garment  of  Maria  of  Cleves,  which  was  moist  with  her 
perspiration.  Although  she  was  the  bride  of  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  Henry  conceived  immediately  such  a  passionate 
love  for  her  that  he  could  not  resist  it,  and  made  her,  as 
history  shows,  very  unhappy.  An  analogous  instance  is 
related  of  Henry  IV.,  whose  passion  for  the  beautiful 
Gabriel  is  said  to  have  originated  at  the  instant  when,  at 
a  ball,  he  wiped  his  brow  with  her  handkerchief. 

Professor  Jciger,  the  "  discoverer  of  the  soul,"  refers  to 
the  same  thing  in  his  well-known  book  (2nd.  ed.,  1880, 
chap.  XV.,  p.  173) ;  for  he  regards  the  sweat  as  important 
in  the  production  of  sexual  effects,  and  as  being  especially 
seductive. 

One  learns  from  reading  the  work  of  Floss  ("  Das 
Weib  "),  that  attempts  to  attract  a  person  of  the  opposite 
sex  by  means  of  the  perspiration,  may  be  discerned  in 
many  forms  in  popular  psychology. 

In  reference  to  this,  a  custom  which  holds  among  the 
natives  of  the  Philippine  Islands  when  they  become 
engaged,  as  reported  by  Jagor,  is  remarkable.  When  it 
becomes  necessary  for  an  engaged  pair  to  separate,  they 
exchange  articles  of  wearing-apparel,  by  means  of  which 
each  becomes  assured  of  faithfulness.  These  objects  are 
carefully  preserved,  covered  with  kisses,  and  smelled. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL   FACTS.  33 

The  love  of  certain  libertines  and  sensual  women  for 
perfumes  ^  indicates  a  relation  between  the  olfactory  and 
the  sexual  senses. 

A  case  mentioned  by  Heschl  ("Wiener  Zeitschrift  f. 
pract.  Heilkunde,"  22nd  March,  1861)  is  remarkable, 
where  the  absence  of  both  olfactory  lobes  was  accompanied 
by  imperfectly  developed  genitals.  It  was  the  case  of  a 
man  aged  forty-five,  in  all  respects  well  developed,  with 
the  exception  of  the  testicles,  which  were  not  larger  than 
beans  and  contained  no  seminal  canals,  and  the  larynx, 
which  seemed  to  be  of  feminine  dnnensions.  Every  trace 
of  olfactory  nerves  was  wanting,  and  the  trigona  olfactoria 
and  the  furrow  on  the  under  surface  of  the  anterior  lobes 
were  absent.  The  perforations  of  the  ethmoid  plate  were 
sparingly  present,  and  occupied  by  nerveless  processes  of 
the  dura  instead  of  by  nerves.  In  the  mucous  membrane 
of  the  nose  there  was  also  an  absence  of  nerves. 

Finally,  the  clearly  defined  relation  of  the  olfactory 
and  sexual  senses  in  mental  diseases  is  worthy  of  notice, 
for  in  the  psychoses  of  both  sexes  superinduced  by  mas- 
turbation, as  well  as  in  insanity  due  to  disease  of  the 
female  organs,  or  during  the  climacterium,  olfactory  hal- 
lucinations are  especially  frequent,  while  in  cases  where 
a  sexual  cause  is  wanting  they  are  very  infrequent. 

1  am  incHned  to  doubt  ^  that,  under  normal  conditions, 
olfactory  impressions  in  man,  as  in  animals,  play  an  im- 
portant role  m  the  excitation  of  the  sexual   centre.     On 

'  Cf.  Laycock,  who  ("  Nervous  Diseases  of  Women,"  1840)  found  that 
in  women  the  love  for  musk  and  similar  perfumes  was  related  to  sexual 
excitement. 

2  The  following  case,  reported  by  Binet,  seems  to  be  in  opposition  to 
this  idea.  Unfortunately  nothing  is  said  concerning  the  mental  char- 
acteristics of  the  person.  In  any  event,  it  is  certainly  confirmatory  of 
the  relations  existing  between  the  olfactory  and  sexual  senses: — 

D.,  a  medical  student,  was  seated  on  a  bench  in  a  public  park,  read- 
ing a  book  (on  pathology).  Suddenly  a  violent  erection  disturbed  him. 
He  looked  up  and  noticed  that  a  lady,  redolent  with  perfume,  had  taken 
a  seat  upon  the  other  end  of  the  bench.  D.  could  attribute  the  erection 
to  nothing  but  the  unconscious  olfactory  impression  made  upon  him 

3 


34  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS,  ' 

account  of  the  importance  of  this  consenaus  for  the  under- 
standing of  pathological  cases,  it  is  necessary  here  to 
thoroughly  consider  the  relations  existing  between  the 
olfactory  and  sexual  senses. 

With  reference  to  these  physiological  relations  it  may 
be  mentioned  as  an  interesting  fact  that  there  exists  a 
certain  histological  conformity  between  the  nose  and  the 
genitals,  for  both  have  erectile  tissue  (likewise  the  nipple), 

Interesting  physiological  and  clinical  observations  by 
/.  N.  Mackenzie  may  be  found  in  the  "  Journal  of  Medical 
Science,"  April,  1884  [and  "Journal  of  Laryngology," 
etc.,  March,  1898. — Translator].  He  finds  :  (1)  that  in 
certani  women  with  normal  olfactory  organs  regularly  with 
menstruation  a  swelling  of  the  erectile  tissue  of  the  nose 
occurs  which  disappears  again  with  the  floodmg ;  (2) 
that  menstruation  is  at  times  replaced  by  epistaxis,  which 
disappears  when  the  uterine  flow  begins,  but  in  some 
cases  always  recurs  with  the  menstrual  functions ;  (3) 
irritations  of  the  nasal  organs  such  as  violent  sneezing, 
etc.,  occur  at  the  time  of  sexual  excitement ;  (4)  Stimula- 
tion of  the  genital  tracts  is  occasioned  by  affections  of 
the  nasal  organs. 

He  also  observes  that  nasal  affections  in  women  grow 
worse  during  the  time  of  menstruation ;  that  venereal 
excesses  produce  inflammation  of  the  Schneiderian  mem- 
brane, or  intensify  it  where  it  already  exists. 

He  also  points  out  that  masturbators  very  frequently 
suffer  from  nasal  disease,  are  troubled  with  abnormal 
sensations  of  olfaction,  and  are  subject  to  epistaxis. 
According  to  his  experience  there  are  affections  of  the 
nose  which  stubbornly  resist  all  treatment  until  the  con- 
comitant (and  causal)  genital  disease  is  removed. 

Other  interesting  observations  and  elucidations  about 
the  consensus  nariuyn  et  (jenitalium  may  be  found  in  a 
book  by  Fliess  recently  published :  "  Die  Beziehungen 
zwischen  Nase  und  weiblichen  Geschlechtsorganen," 
Vienna  (Deuticke),  1897. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL    FACTS.  35 

The  sexual  sphere  of  the  cerebral  cortex  may  be 
excited,  in  the  sense  of  an  excitation  of  sexual  concepts 
and  impulses,  by  processes  in  the  generative  organs. 
This  is  possible  as  a  result  of  all  conditions  which  excite 
the  erection-centre  by  means  of  centripetal  influence 
(stimulus  resulting  from  distension  of  the  seminal  vesicles  ; 
enlarged  Graafian  follicles ;  any  sensory  stimulus,  how- 
ever produced,  about  the  genitals ;  hypereemia  and  tur- 
gescence  of  the  genitals,  especially  of  the  erectile  tissue  of 
the  corpus  cavernosum  of  the  penis  and  clitoris,  as  a 
result  of  luxurious,  sedentary  life ;  plethora  abdominalis, 
high  external  temperature,  warm  beds,  clothing ;  taking 
of  cantharides,  pepper  and  other  spices). 

Libido  sexualis  may  also  be  induced  by  stimulation  of 
the  gluteal  region  (castigation,  whipping).^ 

This  fact  is  important  for  the  proper  understanding  of 
certain  pathological  manifestations.  It  sometimes  happens 
that  in  boys  the  first  excitation  of  the  sexual  instinct  is 
caused  by  a  spanking,  and  they  are  thus  incited  to  mass 
turbation.  This  should  be  remembered  by  those  who  have 
the  care  of  children. 

On  account  of  the  dangers  to  which  this  form  of 
punishment  of  children  gives  rise,  it  would  be  better  if 
parents,  teachers  and  nurses  were  to  avoid  it  entirely. 

Passive  flagellation  may  excite  sensuality,  as  is  shown 
by  the  sects  of  flagellants,^  so  widespread  in  the  thirteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries.  They  were  accustomed  to  whip 
themselves,  partly  as  an  atonement  and  partly  to  mortify 
the  flesh  (in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  chastity  pro- 
mulgated by  the  Church — i.e.,  the  emancipation  of  the 
soul  from  sensuality). 

These  sects  were  at  first  favoured  by  the  Church ;  but, 

^  Meibomius,  "  De  flagiorum  usu  in  re  medica,"  Londou,  17G5 ; 
Boileau,  "  The  History  of  the  Flagellants,"  London,  1783 ;  Dojypet, 
•' Aphrodisiaque  externe,"  Paris,  17-88. 

^  Corvin,  Hist.  Denkmalc  des  christlichen  Fanatismus,  II.,  Leipzig, 
1847 ;  Foerstcmann,  Die  christlichen  Gcisslcrgcsellschaftcn,  Ilalle,  1828. 


36  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

since  sensuality  was  only  the  more  excited  by  flagellation, 
and  this  fact  became  apparent  in  unpleasant  occurrences, 
the  Church  was  finally  compelled  to  oppose  it.  The  fol- 
lowing facts  from  the  lives  of  the  two  heroines  of  flagella- 
tion, Maria  Magdalena  of  Pazzi  and  Elizabeth  of  Genton, 
clearly  show  the  significance  of  flagellation  as  a  sexual 
excitant.  The  former,  the  daughter  of  distinguished 
parents,  was  a  Carmelite  nun  in  Florence  (about  1580), 
and,  by  her  flagellations,  and  still  more  through  the  re- 
sults obtained  by  them,  she  became  quite  celebrated,  and 
is  mentioned  in  the  "  Annals  ".  It  was  her  greatest  delight 
to  have  her  hands  bound  by  the  prioress  behind  her  back, 
and  her  naked  loins  whipped  in  the  presence  of  the 
assembled  sisters. 

But  the  whippings,  continued  from  her  earliest  youth, 
quite  destroyed  her  nervous  system,  and,  perhaps,  no  other 
heroine  of  flagellation  had  so  many  hallucinations  ("Ent- 
zLTckungen  ").  While  being  whipped  her  thoughts  were 
of  love.  The  inner  fire  threatened  to  consume  her,  and 
she  frequently  cried,  "  Enough  !  Fan  no  longer  the  flame 
that  consumes  me.  This  is  not  the  death  I  long  for ;  it 
comes  with  all  too  much  pleasure  and  delight."  Thus 
it  continued.  But  the  spirit  of  impurity  wove  the  most 
sensual,  lascivious  fancies,  and  she  was  several  times  near 
losing  her  chastity. 

It  was  the  same  with  Elizabeth  of  Genton.  As  a 
result  of  whipping  she  actually  passed  into  a  state  of 
bacchanalian  madness.  As  a  rule,  she  raved  when,  ex- 
cited by  unusual  flagellation,  she  believed  herself  united 
with  her  "ideal".  This  condition  was  so  exquisitely 
pleasant  to  her  that  she  would  frequently  cry  out,  "0 
love,  0  eternal  love,  O  love,  0  you  creatures  !  cry  out 
with  me  :  *  Love,  Love  ! '" 

It  is  known,  on  the  authority  of  Taxil  {op:  cit.,  p.  175), 
that  rakes  sometimes  have  themselves  flagellated,  or 
pricked  until  blood  flows,  just  before  the  sexual  act,  in 
order  to  stimulate  their  diminished  sexual  power. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL   FACTS.  37 

These  facts  find  an  interesting  confirmation  in  the 
following  experiences,  taken  from  PaulUms  "  i^'lagellum 
Salutis  "  (1st  ed.,  1698  ;  reprint,  Stuttgart,  1847)  :— 

"There  are  some  nations,  viz.,  the  Persians  and 
Kussians,  where  the  women  regard  blows  as  a  peculiar 
sign  of  love  and  favour.  Strangely  enough,  the  Kussian 
women  are  never  more  pleased  and  delighted  than  when 
they  receive  hard  blows  from  their  husbands,  as  John 
Barclarus  relates  in  a  remarkable  narrative.  A  German, 
named  Jordan,  went  to  Eussia,  and,  pleased  with  the 
country,  settled  there  and  took  a  Eussian  wife,  whom  he 
loved  dearly,  and  to  whom  he  was  always  kind  in  every- 
thing. But  she  always  wore  an  expression  of  dissatisfac- 
tion, and  went  about  with  sighs  and  downcast  eyes.  The 
husband  asked  the  reason,  for  he  could  not  understand 
what  was  wrong.  'Aye,'  she  said,  'though  you  love  me. 
you  do  not  show  me  any  sign  of  it.'  He  embraced  her, 
and  begged  to  be  told  what  he  had  carelessly  and  uncon- 
sciously done  to  hurt  her  feelings,  and  to  be  forgiven,  for 
he  would  never  do  it  again.  '  I  want  nothing,'  was  the 
answer,  '  but  what  is  customary  in  our  country — the 
whip,  the  real  sign  of  love.'  When  Jordan  adopted 
the  custom  his  wife  began  to  love  him  dearly. 

Similar  stories  are  told  by  Peter  Petreus,  of  Erlesund, 
who  adds  that  husbands,  immediately  after  the  wedding, 
among  other  indispensable  household  articles,  provide 
themselves  with  a  whip." 

On  page  73  of  this  remarkable  book,  the  author  says 
further:  "The  celebrated  Count  of  Mirandula,  JoJm  Plcus, 
relates  of  one  of  his  intimate  acquaintances  that  he  was 
an  insatiable  fellow,  but  so  lazy  and  incapable  of  love 
that  he  was  practically  impotent  until  he  had  been 
roughly  handled.  The  more  he  tried  to  satisfy  his 
desire,  the  heavier  the  blows  he  needed,  and  he  could 
not  attain  his  desire,  unless  he  had  been  whipped  till  the 
-blood  came.  For  this  purpose  he  had  a  suitable  whip 
made,  which  was  placed  in  vinegar  the  day  before  using 


38  SYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

it.  He  would  give  this  to  his  companion,  and  on  bended 
knees  beg  her  not  to  spare  him,  but  to  strike  blows  with 
it,  the  heavier  the  better.  The  good  count  thought  this 
singular  man  found  the  pleasure  of  love  in  this  punish- 
ment. Not  being  a  bad  man  in  other  respects  he  under- 
stood and  hated  his  weakness." 

Coelnis  Bhodigin  relates  a  similar  story,  as  does  also  the 
celebrated  jurist,  Andreas  Tiraqnell.  In  the  time  of  the 
skilful  physician,  Otte^i  Brunfelsen,  there  lived  in  Munich, 
then  the  capital  of  the  Bavarian  electorate,  a  debauchee 
who  could  never  perform  his  [sexual]  duties  without  a 
severe  preparatory  beating.  Thomas  Barthelin  knew  a 
Venetian,  who  had  to  be  beaten  and  driven  before  he 
could  have  intercourse,  just  as  reluctant  Cupid  was 
driven  by  his  followers  with  sprays  of  hyacinths.  A  few 
years  ago  there  was  in  Liibeck  a  cheesemonger,  living  on 
Mill  Street,  who,  on  a  complaint  to  the  authorities  of  un- 
faithfulness, was  ordered  to  leave  the  city.  The  prostitute 
with  whom  he  had  been,  went  to  the  judges  and  begged 
on  his  behalf,  teUing  how  difficult  all  intercourse  had 
become  for  him.  He  could  do  nothing  until  he  had  been 
mercilessly  beaten.  At  first  the  fellow,  from  shame  and 
to  avoid  disgrace,  would  not  confess,  but  after  earnest 
questioning  he  could  not  deny  it.  There  is  said  to  have 
been  a  man  in  the  Netherlands  who  was  similarly  in- 
capable, and  could  do  nothing  without  blows.  On  the 
decree  of  the  authorities,  however,  he  was  not  only  re- 
moved from  his  position,  but  also  severely  punished.  A 
reliable  friend,  ia  physician  in  an  important  city  of  the 
kingdom,  related  to  me  how  a  woman  of  bad  character 
had  told  a  companion,  who  had  been  in  the  hospital  a 
short  time  before,  that  she,  with  another  woman  of  like 
character,  had  been  sent  to  the  woods  by  a  man  who 
followed  them  there,  cut  rods  for  them,  and  then  expos- 
incf  his  naked  buttocks,  commanded  them  to  belabour  him 
well.  They  obeyed,  and  it  is  easy  to  conjecture  what  he 
then  did  with  them.     Not  only  men  have  thus  been  ex- 


PHYSIOLOGICAL    FACTS.  39 

cited  and  inflamed  to  lasciviousness,  but  also  women,  that 
they  too  might  experience  greatei-  intensity  of  pleasure. 
For  this  reason  the  Koman  woman  had  herself  whipped 
and  beaten  by  the  hcpercis.     Thus  Juvenal  writes : — 

"  Steriles  moriuntur,  et  illis 
Turgida  non  prodest  condita  psycido  Lj'de  : 
Nee  prodest  agili  palmas  prrebere  Luperco." 

In  men,  as  well  as  in  women,  erection  and  orgasm,  or 
even  ejaculation,  may  be  induced  by  irritation  of  various 
oLher  regions  of  the  skin  and  mucous  membrane.  These 
"  hyperaesthetic "  zones  in  woman  are,  while  she  is  a 
virgin,  the  clitoris,  and,  after  defloration,  the  vagina  and 
cervix  uteri. 

In  woman  the  nipple  particularly  seems  to  possess  this 
quality.  Titillatio  hujus  regionis  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  ars  erotica.  In  his  "Typographical  Anatomy," 
1865,  Bd.  i.,  p.  552,  Hyrtl  cites  Val.  Hildenbrandt,  who 
observed  a  peculiar  anomaly  of  the  sexual  instinct  in  a 
girl,  which  he  called  suctusstupratio.  She  had  her  mamma? 
sucked  by  her  lover,  and  after  a  while,  by  constantly  pull- 
ing her  nipples,  she  was  enabled  to  suck  them  bcrself,  an 
act  tbat  gave  her  most  intense  pleasure.  Hyrtl  also  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  cows  sometimes  suck  the  milk 
from  their  own  udders.  L.  Brunn  ("  Zeitg.  f.  Literatur,"  etc., 
d.  Hamburg,  Correspondent,  1889,  No.  21),  in  an  interest- 
ing article  on  "  Sensualit}^  and  Love  of  Kin,"  points  out 
how  zealously  the  nursing  mother  gives  herself  to  the 
nursing  of  the  babe,  "  for  love  of  the  weak,  undeveloped, 
helpless  being  ". 

It  is  easy  to  assume  that,  by  the  side  of  the  ethical 
motives,  the  fact  that  the  sucking  may  be  attended  by 
feelings  of  physical  pleasure  plays  a  part.  The  remark  of 
Brunn,  although  correct  in  itself,  but  one-sided,  that, 
according  to  Ilouzeaufi  experience,  among  the  majority  of 
animals  the  relations  between  mother  and  offspring  are 
close  only  during  the  time  of  nursing,  and  thereafter 
indifferent,  also  speaks  in  favour  of  this  assumption. 


40  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Bastian  found  the  same  thing  (blunting  of  the  feeling 
for  the  offspring  after  weaning)  among  savages. 

Under  pathological  conditions,  as  is  shown  by  Cham- 
hard,  among  others,  in  his  thesis  for  tbe  doctorate,  other 
portions  of  the  body  (in  hysterical  persons)  about  the 
mammse  and  genitals  may  attain  the  significance  of 
"  hyperaesthetic  "  zones. 

In  man,  physiologically,  the  only  "  hyperaesthetic " 
zone  is  the  glans  penis  and  perhaps  the  skin  of  the  ex- 
ternal genitals. 

Under  pathological  conditions  the  anus  may  become 
a  "  hyperaesthetic  "  area.  Thus  anal  automasturbation, 
which  seems  to  be  only  too  frequent,  and  passive  pederasty 
would  be  explained.  {Of.  Gamier,  "  Anomahes  sexuelles," 
Paris,  p.  514;  A.  Moll,  "  Contrare  Sexualempfindung," 
2nd  ed.,  p.  222 ;  Frigerio,  "  Archivio  di  Psichiatria," 
1893;  Cristiani,  "Archivio  delle  Psicopatie  sessuali,"  p. 
182,  "  autopederastia  in  un  ahenato,  affetto  da  follia 
periodica  ".) 

The  psycho-physiological  process  comprehended  in  the 
idea  of  sexaal  instinct  is  composed  of 

(1)  concepts  awakened  centrally  or  peripherally  ; 

(2)  the  pleasurable  feelings  associated  with  them. 
The   longing   for   sexual    satisfaction    (libido   sexualis) 

arises  from  them.  This  desire  grows  stronger  constantly 
in  proportion  as  the  excitation  of  the  cerebral  sphere  ac- 
centuates the  feeling  of  pleasure, by  appropriate  conceptions 
and  activity  of  the  imagination  ;  and  the  pleasurable  sen- 
sations are  increased  to  lustful  feeling  by  excitation  of  the 
erection  centre  and  the  consequent  hypersemia  of  the 
genitals  (entrance  of  Hquor  prostaticus  into  the  urethra, 

etc.). 

If  circumstances  favour  the  satisfactory  performance 
of  the  sexual  act,  the  ever-increasing  desire  is  gratified; 
if,  however,  conditions  are  unfavourable,  inhibition  occurs, 
checks  the  central  erectile  power,  and  prevents  the  sexual 
act. 


THE    ACT    OF    COHABITATION.  41 

To  civilised  man  the  ready  presence  of  ideas  which 
inhibit  sexual  desire  is  of  distinct  import.  The  moral 
freedom  of  the  individual,  and  the  decision  vv^hether, 
under  certain  circumstances,  excess,  and  even  crime,  be 
committed  or  not,  depend,  on  the  one  hand,  upon  the 
strength  of  the  instinctive  impulses  and  the  accompany- 
ing organic  sensations  ;  on  the  other,  upon  the  powder  of 
the  inhibitory  ideas.  Constitution,  and  especially  organic 
influences,  have  a  marked  effect  upon  the  instinctive 
impulses ;  education  and  cultivation  of  self-control  coun- 
teract the  opposing  influences. 

The  exciting  and  inhibitory  powers  are  variable 
quantities.  For  instance,  over-indulgence  in  alcohol  is 
very  fatal  in  this  respect,  since  it  awakens  and  increases 
libido  sexualis,  while  at  the  same  time  it  weakens  moral 
resistance. 

The  Act  of  Cohabitation.^ 

The  essential  condition  for  the  man  is  sufficient  erec- 
tion. Anjd  ("  Arch,  fiir  Psych.,"  viii.,  H.  2)  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  in  sexual  excitement  not  alone  the  erection 
centre  is  influenced  but  the  nervous  excitement  is  distri- 
buted over  the  entire  vasomotor  system  of  nerves.  The 
proof  of  this  is  the  turgescence  of  the  organs  in  the  sexual 
act,  injection  of  the  conjunctiva,  prominence  of  the  eye- 
balls, dilatation  of  the  pupils,  cardiac  palpitation  (resulting 
from  paralysis  of  the  vasomotor  nerves  of  the  heart,  which 
arise  from  the  cervical  sympathetic,  and  the  resulting 
dilation  of  the  cardiac  arteries,  and  the  increased  stimula- 
tion of  the  cardiac  gangha  induced  by  the  consequent 
hyperaemia  of  the  cardiac  walls).  The  sexual  act  is 
accompanied  by  a  pleasurable  feeling,  which,  in  the  male, 
is  evoked  by  the  passage  of  semen  through  the  ductus 
ejaculatorii  to  the  urethra,  in  consequence  of  the  sensory 

'  Cf.  Eoubaud,  "  Traite  de  I'impuissance  et  de  la  sterilite,"  Paris 
1878. 


42  PRYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

stimulation  of  the  genitals.  This  pleasurable  sensation 
occurs  earlier  in  the  male  than  in  the  female,  grows 
rapidly  in  intensity  up  to  the  moment  of  commencing 
ejaculation,  reaches  its  acme  in  the  instant  of  free  emis- 
sion, and  disappears  quickly  post  ejaculationem. 

In  the  female  the  pleasurable  feeling  occurs  later  and 
comes'  on  more  slowly,  and  generally  outlasts  the  act  of 
ejaculation. 

The  distinctive  event  in  coitus  is  ejaculation.  This 
function  is  dependent  on  a  centre  (genito-spinal),  which 
Budge  has  shown  to  be  situated  at  the  level  of  the  fourth 
lumbar  vertebra.  It  is  a  reflex  centre.  The  stimulus 
that  excites  it,  is  the  ejection  of  semen  from  the  vcsicula 
seminales  into  the  pars  membranacea  urethra,  a  reflex 
effect  of  stimulation  of  the  glans  penis.  As  soon  as 
the  collection  of  semen,  with  ever-increasmg  pleasurable 
sensation,  has  reached  a  sufficient  amount  to  be  effectual 
as  a  stimulus  of  the  ejaculation-centre,  this  centre  acts. 
The  reflex  motor  path  lies  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  lumbar 
nerves.  The  action  consists  of  a  convulsive  excitation  of 
the  l)ulbo-cavernosus  muscle  (innervated  by  the  third  and 
fourth  sacral  nerves),  which  forces  the  semen  out. 

In  the  female  as  well,  at  the  height  of  sexual  and 
pleasurable  excitement,  a  reflex  movement  occurs.  It 
is  induced  by  stimulation  of  the  sensory  genital  nerves 
and  consists  of  a  peristaltic  movement  in  the  tubes  and 
uterus  as  far  down  as  the  portio  vaginalis,  which  presses 
out  the  mucous  secretions  of  the  tubes  and  uterus.  In- 
hibition of  the  ejaculation  centre  is  possible  as  a  result  of 
cortical  influence  (want  of  desire  in  coitus,  emotions  in 
general,  influence  of  the  will). 

Under  normal  conditions,  with  the  completion  of  the 
sexual  act,  libido  sexualis  and  erection  disappear,  and  the 
psychical  and  sexual  excitement  gives  place  to  a  comfort- 
able feehng  of  lassitude. 


III.  GENERAL  PATHOLOGY.* 
(NEUROLOGICAL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL.) 

Anomalies  of  the  sexual  functions  are  met  with  especially 
in  civiHsed  races.  This  fact  is  explained  in  part  by  the 
frequent  abuse  of  the  sexual  organs,  and  in  part  by  the 
circumstance  that  such  functional  anomalies  are  chiefly 
the  signs  of  an  inherited  diseased  condition  of  the  central 
nervous  system  ("functional  signs  of  degeneration  "). 

1  Literature  :  Parent-Duchatelet,  "  Prostitution  dans  la  villa  de  Paris," 
1837.  Rosenbaum,  "  Bntstehung  der  Syphilis,"  Halle,  1839— also,  "  Die 
Lustseuche  im  Alterthum,"  Halle,  1839.  Descuret,  "  La  medocine  des 
Passions,"  Paris,  1860.  Casper,  "  Klin.  Novellen,"  1860.  Bastion,  "  Der 
Mensch  in  der  Geschichte  ".  Friedldnder,  "  Sittengeschichte  Roms  " 
Wiedcmeister,  "  Casarenwahnsinn  ".  Scherr,  "  Deutsche  Kultur  um: 
Sittengeschichte,"  Bd.  i. ,  cap.  ix.  Jeannel,  "  Die  Prostitution,"  deutsch  von 
Miiller,  Erlangen,  1869.  v.  Krafft,  "  Neue  Forschungen  auf  dem  Gebietc 
der  Psychopathia  sexualis,"  2  Aufl.,  Stuttgart,  1891.  Taxil,  "  La  Prosti 
tution  contemporaine,"  Paris,  1884.  Frank  Lydston,  "  Philadelph.  Med. 
and  Surg.  Reports,  1889.  Urquhardt,  Journal  of  Mental  Science,  Jan. 
1891.  Antonini,  "  Achiv.  di  Psichiatria,"  xii.,  1,2.  Cantarano,  Zeitschr- 
"  La  Psichiatria,"  v. ,  2,  3.  Krauss,  "  Psychologie  des  Verbrechcns,"  1884. 
Kicrnan,  "Medic.  Standard,"  Nov.,  1889.  Delcourt,  "  Le  Vice  a  Paris," 
1889.  Lombroso,  "  L'uomo  Delinquente,"  2  Aufl.,  1878.  Toulmuuche, 
"  Annal.  d'hygiene,"  18G8.  GirakUs  et  Horteloup,  ibidem,  1876,  {i.  419. 
Eidenburg,  "  Klin.  Handb.  d.  Harn-  und  Sexualorgane,"  1894,4  Abthl., 
p.  36.  Moll,  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Libido  sexualis,"  1897  ;  "  Archivio 
dollo  psicopatic  sessuali,"  Naples  (1896),  volume  unico.  Tardieu,  "  Dos 
attentats  aux  mcEurs,"  7  edit.,  1878.  Emminghaus,  "  Psychopathol," 
pp.  98,  225,  230,  232.  Schille,  "  Handbuch  der  Geisteskrankhcitcn,"  p. 
114.  Marc,  "Die  Geistcskrankheiten,"  ii.,  p.  123.  v.  Krafft,  "  Lehrh. 
d.  Psj'chiatrie,"  5  Aufl.  i.,  p.  83;  "  Lehrb.  d.  ger.  Psychopathol,"  3  Aufl., 
p.  279;  "  Archiv  f.  Psychiatrie,"  vii.,  2.  Morcau,  "Des  Aberrations  du 
sens  G6n6siquc,"  Paris,  1880.  Kirn,  "  Allg.  Zoitschr.  f.  Psychiatric," 
39,    Heft    2    u.    3.      Lombroso,    "  GeschlGchtstrieb    und    Verbrochon    in 

(43) 


44  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Since  the  generative  organs  stand  in  important  func- 
tional relation  to  the  entire  nervous  system,  and  especially 
to  its  psychical  and  somatic  functions,  the  frequency  of 
general  neuroses  and  psychoses  arising  in  sexual,  (func- 
tional or  organic),  disturbances,  is  easy  to  understand. 

SCHEDULE  OF  THE  SEXUAL  NEUKOSES. 

I.  Peeipheeal. 

1.  Sensory. 

fl)  Anaesthesia ;  (&)  Hypersesthesia ;  (c)  Neuralgia. 

2.   Secretory. 

(a)  Aspermia  ;  (&)  Polyspermia. 

3.  Motor. 

(a)  Pollutions  (spasm)  ;  (b)  Spermatorrhoea  (paralysis). 

II.  Spinal  Neueoses. 
1.  Affections  of  the  Erection  Centre. 

(a)  Irritation  (priapism)  arises  from  reflex  action  of 
peripheral  sensory  irritants  {e.g.,  gonorrhoea) ;  directly, 
from  organic  irritation  of  the  nerve-tracts  leading  from 
the  brain  to  the  erection  centre  (spinal  disease  in  the  lower 
cervical  and  upper  dorsal  regions),  or  of  the  centre  itself 
(certain  poisons) ;  or  from  psychical  irritation. 

In  the  latter  case  satyriasis  exists,  i.e.,  abnormal  dura- 
tion of  erection,  with  libido  sexualis.  In  reflex  or  direct 
organic  irritation,  libido  sexualis  may  be  wanting,  and  the 
priapism  may  even  give  rise  to  disgust. 

ihren  gegenseitigen  Beziehungen "  (GoUdammer's  "Archiv,"  Bd.  30). 
Tarnowsky,  "  Die  krankhaften  Erscheinungen  des  Geschlechtssinnes,'' 
Berlin,  1886.  Ball,  "La  folie  erotique,"  Paris,  1888.  Serieux,  " Re- 
cherches  cliniques  sur  les  anomalies  de  I'instinct  sexuel,"  Paris,  1888' 
Hammond,  "  Sexual  Impotence,"  1889. 

Among  modern  novelists  who  deal  with  the  subject  of  sexual  perver- 
sion the  French  are  most  pre-eminent,  viz. :  Catulle  Mendes,  Pdladan, 
Lemonnier,  Dubut  de  la  Forest  ("  L'homme  de  joie  "),  Huysmans  ("  La 
bas  "),  Zola. 


SPINAL   NEUROSES.  45 

(b)  Paralysis  arises  from  the  destruction  of  the  centre, 
or  of  the  nerve-tracts  (nervi  erigentes),  in  diseases  of  the 
spinal  cord  (paralytic  impotence). 

A  milder  form  is  that  of  lessened  excitability  of  the 
centre,  resulting  from  over-stimulation  (sexual  excess, 
especially  onanism),  or  from  alcoholic  intoxication,  abuse 
of  bromides,  etc.  It  may  also  originate  from  cerebral 
anaesthesia,  or  that  of  the  external  genitals.  Cerebral 
hypersesthesia  is  more  frequent  in  such  cases  (increased 
libido  sexualis,  lust). 

A  peculiar  form  of  diminished  excitability  is  shown  in 
those  cases  where  the  centre  -responds  only  to  certain 
stimuli.  Thus  there  are  men  to  whom  sexual  contact 
with  their  virtuous  wives  does  not  supply  the  necessary 
stimulus  for  an  erection,  but  in  whom  it  occurs  when  the 
act  is  attempted  with  a  prostitute,  or  in  the  form  of  some 
unnatural  sexual  act.  So  far  as  psychical  stimuli  are 
concerned,  they  may  be  inadequate  {v.  infra,  paraesthesia 
and  perversion  of  sexual  instinct). 

(c)  Inhibition.  The  erection  centre  may  become  in- 
capable of  function  through  cerebral  influence.  This 
inhibitory  influence  is  an  emotional  process  (disgust,  fear 
of  contagion),  or  fear^  of  impotence.  There  are  men  who 
have  an  unconquerable  antipathy  to  woman,  or  fear  of 
infection,  or  are  suffering  with  perverse  sexual  instinct. 
In  the  latter  condition  are  those  neuropathic  individ- 
uals (neurasthenics,  hypochondriacs),  frequently  weakened 
sexually  (masturbators),  who  have  reason,  or  think  they 
have,  to  mistrust  their  sexual  power.  This  idea  acts  as 
an  inhibitory  impulse,  and  makes  the  act  with  the  person 
of  the  opposite  sex  temporarily  or  absolutely  impossible. 

{d)  Irritable  Weakness.     In  this  condition  there  is  ab- 

'  An  interesting  instance  of  how  an  imperative  conception  of  non- 
sexual content  can  exert  an  infiuence  is  related  by  Magnan  ("  Ann.  Med. 
Psych.,"  1885) :  Student,  aged  twenty-one,  strongly  predisposed  heredi- 
tarily, previously  a  masturbator,  constantly  struggles  with  the  number 
thirteen  as  an  imperative  conception.  As  soon  as  he  attempts  coitus  the 
imperative  idea  inhibits  erection  and  renders  the  act  impossible. 


iQ  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

normal  impressionability  of  the  centre,  but  accompanied 
by  rapid  diminution  of  its  energy.  There  may  be  func- 
tional disturbance  of  the  centre  itself,  or  weakness  of  the 
innervation  through  the  nervi  erigentes ;  or  there  may 
be  weakness  of  the  erector  penis  muscle.  Cases  in 
which  erection  is  abortive  on  account  of  abnormally  early 
ejaculation,  form  a  transition  to  the  following  anom- 
alies : — 

2.  Affections  of  the  Ejaculation  Centre. 

(a)  Abnormally  easy  ejaculation  from  absence  of  cerebral 
inhibition,  resulting  from  excessive  psychical  excitement 
or  irritable  weakness  of  the  centre.  In  this  case,  under 
certain  circumstances,  the  simple  conception  of  a  lascivious 
situation  is  sufficient  to  set  the  centre  in  action,  (high 
degree  of  spinal  neurasthenia,  usually  resulting  from 
sexual  abuse).  A  third  possibility  is  hypersesthesia  of  the 
urethra,  by  virtue  of  which  the  escaping  semen  induces 
an  immediate  and  excessive  reflex  action  of  the  ejaculation 
centre.  In  such  cases  simple  proximity  to  the  female 
genitals  may  be  sufficient  to  induce  ejaculation  {ante 
portam). 

In  cases  of  hyperaesthesia  of  the  urethra  (as  a  cause), 
ejaculation  may  be  accompanied  by  painful,  instead  of 
pleasurable  sensations.  Usually  in  cases  where  there  is 
hypergesthesia  of  the  urethra,  there  is  at  the  same  time 
irritable  weakness  of  the  centre.  Both  these  functional 
disturbances  are  important  in  the  production  of  pollutio 
nimia  and  diurna. 

The  accompanying  pleasurable  feeling  may  be  patho- 
logically absent.  This  occurs  in  defective  men  and  women 
(anaesthesia,  aspermia?),  and,  further,  as  a  result  of 
disease  (neurasthenia,  hysteria)  ;  or  (in  prostitutes)  it  fol- 
lows over-stimulation  and  the  blunting  thus  induced.  The 
intensity  of  the  pleasurable  feeling  accompanying  the 
sexual  act  depends  on  the  degree  of  psychical  and  motor 
excitement.      Under    pathological    conditions    this   may 


CEREBRAL   NEUROSES.  4? 

become  so  pronounced,  that  the  movements  of  coitus 
assume  the  character  of  involuntary  convulsive  actions, 
and  even  pass  into  general  convulsions. 

(6)  Abnor^nally  difficult  ejaculation.  It  is  occasioned  by 
inexcitability  of  the  centre  (absence  of  libido,  paralysis 
of  the  centre :  organic,  from  disease  of  brain  or  spinal 
cord  ;  functional,  from  sexual  abuses,  marasmus;  diabetes 
morphinism),  and,  in  this  case,  for  the  most  part,  in  connec- 
tion with  anaesthesia  of  the  genitals  and  paralysis  of  the 
erection  centre.  Or,  it  is  the  result  of  a  lesion  of  the  reflex 
arc  or  of  peripheral  anaesthesia  (urethra),  or  of  aspermia. 
The  ejaculation  occurs  either  not  at  all,  or  tardily,  in  the 
course  of  the  sexual  act,  or  only  afterward,  in  the  form  of 
a  pollution. 

III.  Cerebbal  Neuroses. 

(1)  Paradoxia,  i.e.,  sexual  excitement  occurring  inde- 
pendently of  the  period  of  the  physiological  processes  in 
the  generative  organs. 

(2)  Ancesthesia  (absence  of  sexual  instinct).  Here  all 
organic  impulses  arising  from  the  sexual  organs,  as  well 
as  all  impulses,  and  visual,  auditory  and  olfactory  sense 
impressions  fail  to  sexually  excite  the  individual.  This  is 
a  physiological  condition  in  childhood  and  old  age. 

(3)  Hyperesthesia  (increased  desire,  satyriasis).  In  this 
state  there  is  an  abnormally  increased  impressionability 
of  the  vita  scxualis  to  organic,  psychical  and  sensory 
stimuli  (abnormally  intense  libido,  lustfulness,  lascivious- 
ness).  The  stimulus  may  be  central  (nymphomania, 
satyriasis)  or  peripheral,  functional  or  organic. 

(4)  Paroisthesia  (perversion  of  the  sexual  instinct,  i.e., 
excitability  of  the  sexual  functions  to  inadequate  stimuli). 

These  cerebral  anomalies  fall  within  the  domain  of 
psychopathology.  The  spinal  and  peripheral  anomahes 
may  occur  in  combination  with  the  former ;  but  as  a  rule 
they  affect  persons  free  from  mental  disease.  They  may 
occur  in  various  combinations,  and  become  the  cause  of 


48  PSTCHOPATHIA   SBXUALIS. 

sexual  crimes,  for  which  reason  they  demand  considera- 
tion in  the  following  description.  However,  the  cerebral 
anomalies  claim  the  principal  interest,  since  they  very 
frequently  lead  to  the  commission  of  perverse  and  even 
criminal  acts. 

A.  Paradoxia.     Sexual   Instinct  Manifesting  itself   inde- 
pendently of  Physiological  Processes. 

1.  Sexual  Instinct  Manifested  in  Childliood. 

Every  physician  conversant  with  nervous  affections  and 
diseases  incident  to  childhood  is  aware  of  the  fact  that 
manifestations  of  sexual  instinct  may  occur  in  very  young 
children.  The  observations  of  Ultzmann  concerning 
masturbation  in  childhood^  are  worthy  of  attention  in 
relation  to  it.  It  is  necessary  here  to  differentiate  between 
the  numerous  cases,  in  which,  as  a  result  of  phimosis, 
balanitis,  or  oxyuris  in  the  rectum  or  the  vagina,  young 
children  have  itching  of  the  genitals,  and  experience  a 
kind  of  pleasurable  sensation  from  manipulations  occa- 
sioned thereby,  and  thus  come  to  practise  masturbation  ; 
and  those  cases  in  which  sexual  ideas  and  impulses  occur 
in  the  child  as  a  result  of  cerebral  processes  without 
peripheral  causes.  It  is  only  in  this  latter  class  of  cases 
that  we  have  to  do  with  premature  manifestation  of  sexual 
instinct.  In  such  cases  it  may  always  be  regarded  as  an 
accompanying  symptom  of  a  neuropsychopathic  consti- 
tutional condition. 

A  case  of  Marcs  ("Die  Geisteskrankheiten,"  etc.,  von 
Ideler,  i.,  p.  66)  illustrates  very  well  these  conditions.  The 
subject  was  a  girl  eight  years  of  age,  of  respectable  family, 
who  was  devoid  of  all  child-like  and  moral  feehngs,  and 

^ Louyer-Villcrmay  spea,ks  oi  masturbation  in  a  girl  of  three  or  four 
years,  and  Morcaii  ("Aberrations  du  sens  gjnesique,"  2  edit.,  p.  209)  of 
the  same  in  one  of  two  years.  See  further  Maudsley,  "  Physiology  and 
Pathology  of  Mind";  Hirschsprung  (Kopenhagen),  "Berlin,  klin.  Wo- 
chenschr.,"  1886,  Nr.  38  ;  Lombroso,  "  The  Criminal,"  cases  10, 19,  and  21. 


CEREBRAL   NEUROSES — PARADOXIA.  49 

had  masturbated  from  her  fourth  year ;  at  the  same  time 
she  consorted  with  boys  of  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve.  She 
had  thought  of  kilHng  her  parents,  that  she  might  become 
her  own  mistress  and  give  herself  up  to  pleasure  with 
men. 

In  these  cases  of  premature  manifestation  of  libido  the 
children  begin  early  to  masturbate ;  and,  since  they  are 
greatly  predisposed  constitutionally,  they  often  sink  into 
dementia,  or  become  subjects  of  severe  degenerative  neu- 
roses or  psychoses, 

Lombroso  ("Archiv  di  Psichiatria,"  iv.,  p.  22)  has 
collected  a  number  of  cases  of  children  affected  with  very 
decided  hereditary  taint,  which  belong  to  this  category. 
One  was  that  of  a  girl  who  masturbated  shamelessly  and 
almost  constantly  at  the  age  of  three.  Another  girl  began 
at  the  age  of  eight,  and  continued  to  practise  masturba- 
tion when  married,  and  even  during  pregnancy.  She  was 
pregnant  twelve  times.  Five  of  the  children  died  early, 
four  were  hydrocephalic,  and  two  boys  began  to  mastur- 
bate— one  at  the  age  of  seven,  the  other  at  the  age  of 
four. 

Zamhaco  ("  L'Encephale,"  1882,  Nr.  1,  2)  tells  the 
disgusting  story  of  two  sisters  affected  with  premature 
and  perverse  sexual  desire.  The  elder,  B.,  masturbated 
at  the  age  of  seven,  practised  lewdness  with  boys,  stole 
wherever  she  could,  seduced  her  four-year-old  sister  into 
masturbation,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  was  given  up  to  the 
practice  of  the  most  revolting  vices.  Even  ferrum  candens 
ad  clitoridem  had  no  effect  in  overcoming  the  practice,  and 
she  masturbated  with  the  cassock  of  a  priest  while  he  was 
exhorting  her  to  reformation. 

Cf.  also  Magnan,  "  Lectures  on  Psychiatry,"  in  German 
by  Mohius  (vols.  ii.  and  iii.,  p.  27),  giving  the  case  of  pre- 
mature and  preverse  vita  sexualis  in  a  girl  of  twelve  with 
hereditary  tamt.     Utner  cases,  ibidem  p.  120-121. 


50  PSYCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

2.  Be-awakenmg  of  Sexual  Insthict  in  Old  Age} 

Cases  in  which  the  sexual  instinct  prevails  until  a 
great  age  are  rare.  "  Senectus  non  quidem  annis  sed 
viribus  magis  aestiniatur  "  (Z ittmann) .  Oesterlen  ("  Maschka, 
Handb.,"  iii.,  p.  18)  mentions  the  case  of  a  man  aged  eighty- 
three,  who  was  sentenced  to  three  years'  imprisonment 
by  a  court  in  Wiirtemberg  on  account  of  sexual  mis- 
demeanours. Unfortunately  nothing  is  said  of  the  nature 
of  the  crime  or  of  the  mental  condition  of  the  criminal. 

The  manifestation  of  sexual  instinct  in  old  age  is  not 
in  itself  pathological. 

Presumption  of  pathological  conditions  must  neces- 
sarily be  entertained  when  the  individual  is  decrepit 
and  his  sexual  life  has  already  long  become  extinct ; 
and  when  the  impulse,  in  a  man  whose  sexual  needs 
were  in  his  early  life,  perhaps,  not  very  marked,  mani- 
fests itself  with  greater  strength,  and  strives  for  even 
perverse  satisfaction  in  a  shameless  and  impulsive 
manner. 

In  such  cases  a  presumption  of  pathological  condi- 
tions suggests  itself  at  once.  Medical  science  recognises 
the  fact  that  such  an  impulse  depends  upon  the  morbid 
alterations  of  the  brain  which  lead  to  senile  dementia. 
This  abnormal  manifestation  of  sexual  life  may  be  the 
precursor  of  senile  dementia,  and  make  its  appearance 
even  long  before  there  are  any  well-defined  manifesta- 
tions of  intellectual  weakness.  The  attentive  and  expe- 
rienced observer  will  always  be  able  to  detect  in  this 
prodromal  stage  an  alteration  of  character  in  pejus,  and 
a  deterioration  of  the  moral  sense  accompanying  the 
peculiar  sexual  manifestation. 

The  libido  of  those  passing  into  senile  dementia  is  at 
first  expressed  in  lascivious  speech  and  gesture.  The  first 
objects  for  the  attempts  of  these  semle  subjects  of  brain 

^  Cf.  Kirn,  "  Zeitschr.  f.  Psych.,"  Bd.  xxxix.  Legrand  du  Saulle, 
"Auuftl.  d'hyg.,"  Oct.,  18G8. 


CEREBEAL   NEUROSES — rARADOXIA.  51 

atrophy  and  psychical  degeneration  are  cbildreii.  This 
sad  and  dangerous  fact  is  explained  by  the  better  oppor- 
tunity they  have  in  succeeding  with  children,  but  more 
especially  by  a  feeling  of  imperfect  sexual  power.  De- 
fective sexual  power,  and  greatly  diminished  moral  sense, 
explain  the  additional  fact  of  the  perversity  of  the  sexual 
acts  of  such  aged  men.  They  are  the  equivalents  of  the 
impossible  physiological  act. 

The  annals  of  legal  medicine  distinguish  as  such,  ex- 
hibition of  the  genitals,^  lustful  handling  of  the  genitals 
of  children,'  inducing  them  to  perform  manustupration  on 
the  seducer,  and  performing  masturbation  ^  or  flagellation 
on  the  victim. 

In  this  stage  the  intellect  may  still  be  sufficiently  in- 
tact to  allow  avoidance  of  publicity  and  discovery,  while 
the  moral  sense  is  too  far  gone  to  allow  consideration  of 
the  moral  significance  of  the  act,  and  resistance  to  the 
impulse.  With  the  progress  of  dementia,  these  acts  are 
more  and  more  shamelessly  committed.  Then  care  on 
account  of  defective  sexual  power  disappears,  and  adults 
also  become  the  objects  of  the  senile  passion  ;  but  the 
defective  sexual  power  necessitates  equivalents  for  coitus. 
Not  infrequently  sodomy  results,  and,  as  Tarnowsky  (op. 
cit.,  p.  77)  points  out,  in  the  sexual  act  performed  with 
geese,  chickens,  etc.,  the  sight  of  the  dying  animal  and 
its  death-struggles  at  the  time  of  coitus  afford  complete 
satisfaction.  The  perverse  sexual  acts  with  adults  are 
quite  as  horrible,  and  may  be  explained  psychologically 
in  tbe  same  way. 

Case  49,  in  the  author's  "  Text-Book  of  Legal  Psycho- 
pathology,"  second  edition,  p.  161,  demonstrates  how 
enormously    increased    sexual    lust    may   be    during    the 

'  Cases,  vide  Las4gue  ■:  "Lea  exhibitiouistes,"  Union  medicalo,  1877, 
Ist  May. 

*  Legrand  du  Saulle,  "  La  folio  dcvunt  los  tribunaux,"  p.  530. 

'Kirn,  Maschka's  "  Ilandb.  d.  ger.  Mod.,"  pp.  373,  371 ;  "  Allg.  Zeifc- 
«chrift  f.  I'sychiatrie,"  Bd.  xxxix.,  p.  220. 


52  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

course  of  senile  dementia.  Quum  sen&x  lihidinosus  ger- 
manam  siiain  filiam  cemulatione  motus  necaret  et  adspeeti* 
pectoris  scissi  puellcB  ^noribimdcB  delectaretur. 

Erotic  delirium  and  states  of  satyriasis  may  occur  in 
the  course  of  the  malady,  with  or  without  maniacal 
episodes,  as  the  following  case  shows  : — 

Case  1.  J.  Eene,  always  given  to  indulgence  in  sen- 
suality and  sexual  pleasures,  but  always  with  regard  for 
decorum,  has  shown,  since  his  seventy-sixth  year,  a  pro- 
gressive loss  of  intelligence  and  increasing  perversion  of 
his  moral  sense.  Previously  bright  and  outwardly  moral, 
he  now  wasted  his  property  in  concourse  with  prostitutes, 
frequented  brothels  only,  asked  every  woman  on  the  street 
to  marry  him  or  allow  coitus,  and  thus  became  publicly  so 
obnoxious  that  it  was  necessary  to  place  him  in  an  asy- 
lum. There  the  sexual  excitement  increased  to  a  veritable 
satyriasis,  which  lasted  until  he  died.  He  masturbated 
continuously,  even  before  others  ;  took  delight  only  in 
obscene  ideas ;  thought  the  men  about  him  were  women, 
and  followed  them  with  indecent  proposals  {Legrand  du 
SawZZe,  "  La  Folic,"  p.  533). 

Moreover,  women  previously  moral,  when  affected  with 
senile  dementia,  may  manifest  similar  conditions  of  great 
sexual  excitement  (nymphomania,  furor  uterinus). 

It  may  be  seen  from  a  reading  of  Schopenhauer,'^  that, 
as  a  result  of  senile  dementia,  the  abnormally  excited  and 
perverse  instinct  may  be  directed  exclusively  to  persons 
of  the  same  sex  {v.  infra).  Gratification  is  obtained  by 
passive  pederasty,  or,  as  I  ascertained  in  the  following 
case,  by  mutual  masturbation  : — 

Case  2.  Mr.  X.,  aged  eighty,  of  high  social  standing, 
born  of  a  family  with  hereditary  taint.  He  was  always 
very  sensual  and  a  cynic,  of  uncontrollable  temper,  and, 

1"  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  1859,  Bd.  ii.,  p.  461  et  seq. 


CEREBRAL   NEUROSES— PARADOXIA.  53 

according  to  his  own  confession,  as  a  young  man,  pre- 
ferred masturbation  to  coitus.  However,  he  never  showed 
signs  of  sexual  perversion,  and  kept  mistresses,  raising  a 
child  by  one.  At  the  age  of  forty-eight  he  married,  out 
of  inchnation,  and  begat  six  children,  and  never  gave  his 
wife  cause  for  complaint.  I  could  obtain  but  an  incom- 
plete history  of  his  family.  It  was  certain  that  his  brother 
was  suspected  of  love  for  men,  and  that  a  nephew  became 
insane  as  a  result  of  excessive  masturbation. 

The  patient's  temper,  always  pecuhar  and  quick,  has 
for  years  been  growing  more  violent.  He  has  become 
exceedingly  suspicious,  and  shght  opposition  to  his  wishes 
induces  attacks  of  anger  which  may  turn  into  actual  raving, 
in  which  he  may  raise  his  hand  even  against  his  wife.  For  a 
year  there  have  been  unmistakable  signs  of  incipient  senile 
dementia.  The  patient  has  become  forgetful,  locahses  past 
events  incorrectly,  and  has  false  ideas  of  time.  For  four- 
teen months  it  has  been  noticed  that  he  manifests  affection 
for  certain  male  servants,  especially  for  a  gardener's  boy. 
Otherwise  rude  and  overbearing  to  servants,  he  surfeits 
his  favourite  with  favours  and  presents,  and  commands 
his  family  and  his  house  officials  to  treat  the  boy  with  the 
greatest  respect.  The  aged  patient  awaits  the  hour  of 
rendezvous  in  true  sexual  excitement.  He  sends  his 
family  away,  that  he  may  be  with  his  favourite  undis- 
turbed, and  remains  shut  up  with  him  for  hours ;  and 
when  the  doors  are  opened  again,  he  is  found  lying  on  the 
bed  exhausted.  Besides  this  object  of  his  passion,  the 
patient  had  intercourse  episodically  with  other  servants. 
It  is  certain  that  he  enticed  them,  asked  them  for  kisses, 
exhibited  himself,  allowed  manipulation  ad  genitalia, 
and  practised  mutual  masturbation.  By  these  practices 
absolute  demoralisation  was  brought  about  in  the  house- 
hold. The  family  was  powerless ;  for  any  opposition  caused 
violent  outbreaks  of  anger  and  even  threats  against  his 
relatives.  The  patient  was  completely  without  apprecia- 
tion of  his  perverse  sexual  acts  ;    and  therefore  the  only 


54  PSYCIIOrATITIA    SEXUALIS. 

course  left  to  the  afflicted  family  was  to  remove  all  authority 
from  his  hands  and  place  him  in  an  asylum.  No  erotic 
inclination  towards  the  opposite  sex  was  observed,  though 
the  patient  occupied  a  sleeping-apartment  with  his  wife. 
With  reference  to  the  perverse  sexuality  and  the  defective 
moral  sense  of  this  unfortunate  man,  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that  he  questioned  the  servants  of  his  daughter-in-law  as 
to  whether  she  had  lovers. 

B.  Anaesthesia  Sexualis  (Absence  of  Sexual  Feeling). 

1.   As  a  Congenital  Anomaly. 

Only  those  cases  can  be  regarded  as  unquestionable 
examples  of  absence  of  sexual  instinct  dependent  on  cere- 
bral causes,  in  which,  in  spite  of  generative  organs  normally 
developed  and  the  performance  of  their  functions  (secre- 
tion of  semen,  menstruation),  the  corresponding  emotions 
of  sexual  life  are  absolutely  wanting.  These  functionally 
sexless  individuals  are  rare  cases,  and,  indeed,  always 
persons  having  degenerative  defects,  in  whom  other  func- 
tional cerebral  disturbances,  states  of  psychical  degenera- 
tion, and  even  anatomical  signs  of  degeneration,  may  be 
observed.  Lcgrand  du  Saulle  describes  a  classical  case 
that  falls  under  this  head  ("Annales  Medico-psychol," 
May,  1876). 

Case  3.  D.,  aged  thirty-three,  had  a  mother  who 
suffered  from  insanity  of  persecution.  The  mother's  father 
also  suffered  with  persecutionary  insanity,  and  committed 
suicide  ;  her  mother  was  insane,  and  this  woman's  mother 
became  insane  in  the  puerperal  state  ;  three  of  her  mother's 
children  died  in  babyhood,  and  those  that  lived  longer  had 
abnormal  characters.  As  early  as  his  thirteenth  year,  D. 
was  troubled  with  the  thought  of  becoming  insane.  At 
fourteen  he  attempted  suicide.  Later,  vagabondage,  and, 
as  a  soldier,  repeated  insubordination  and  crazy  pranks. 
His  intelligence  was  very  limited  ;  no  signs  of  degcncra- 


CEREBRAL    NEUROSES— ANAESTHESIA    SEXUALIS.  55 

tion  ;  genitals  normal.  At  seventeen  or  eighteen  he  had 
enjissions  of  semen  ;  had  never  masturbated  or  had  sexual 
feehng,  and  never  had  sought  intercourse  with  women. 

Case  4.  P.,  aged  thirty-six,  common  labourer,  was 
received  at  my  clinic  in  the  beginning  of  November  on 
account  of  spastic  spinal  paralysis.  He  declared  he  came 
of  a  healthy  family.  A  stutterer  from  his  youth.  Cranium 
microcephalic  (cf.  53  cm.).  Patient  somewhat  imbecile. 
He  was  never  sociable,  never  had  a  sexual  emotion.  The 
sight  of  a  woman  never  had  anything  enticing  for  him. 
He  never  had  a  desire  to  masturbate.  Erections  frequent, 
but  only  on  awakening  in  the  morning  with  a  full  bladder, 
and  without  a  trace  of  sexual  feeling.  Pollutions  very 
infrequent — about  once  a  year,  m  sleep — and  usually 
while  dreaming  that  he  is  concerned  with  a  female. 
These  dreams,  however,  as  his  dreams  in  general,  are  not 
markedly  erotic.  He  says  the  act  of  pollution  is  not  ac- 
companied by  any  pleasurable  sensation.  Patient  does 
not  feel  this  absence  of  sexual  sensation.  He  gives  the 
assurance  that  his  brother,  aged  thirty-four,  is  in  exactly 
the  same  sexual  condition  as  himself,  and  he  makes  it 
seem  probable  that  a  sister,  aged  twenty-one,  is  in  a 
similar  state.  A  younger  brother,  he  says,  is  sexually 
normal.  The  examination  of  his  genitals  reveals  nothing 
abnormal  beyond  phimosis. 

Hammond  ("  Sexual  Impotence  "),  even  with  his  wide 
experience,  reports  only  the  following  three  cases  of 
anassthesia  .sexualis  : — 

Case  5.  Mr.  W.,  aged  thirty-three;  strong,  healthy, 
with  normal  genitals.  He  had  never  experienced  libido,  and 
had  vainly  sought  to  awaken  his  defective  sexual  instinct 
by  means  of  obscene  stories  and  intercourse  with  pros- 
titutes. On  the  occasion  of  such  attempts  he  experienced 
only  disgust,  with  even  a  feehng  of  nausea,  and  became 


56  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

nervously  and  mentally  exhausted.  Only  once,  when  he 
forced  the  situation,  did  he  have  a  transitory  erection. 
W.  had  never  masturbated,  and  had  had  pollutions  about 
once  every  two  months  from  his  seventeenth  year.  Im- 
portant interests  demanded  that  he  should  marry.  He 
had  no  horror  femina,  and  longed  for  a  home  and  a  wife, 
but  felt  that  he  was  incapable  of  the  sexual  act.  He 
died  unmarried  in  the  American  Civil  War. 

Case  6.  X.,  aged  twenty-seven ;  genitals  normal;  never 
felt  libido.  Mechanical  or  thermic  stimuli  easily  induced 
erection,  but  instead  of  libido  sexualis  there  was  regularly 
a  desire  for  alcohoHc  indulgence.  Such  excesses  also 
induced  erections,  and  he  then  sometimes  masturbated. 
He  had  a  disincHnation  for  women  and  a  loathing  of 
coitus.  If,  with  an  erection,  he  made  an  attempt  at 
coitus,  it  disappeared  at  once.  Death  in  coma  during  an 
attack  of  cerebral  hyperemia. 

Case  7.  Mrs.  0.,  normally  developed,  healthy,  men- 
struated regularly ;  aged  thirty-five  ;  fifteen  years  married. 
She  never  experienced  libido,  and  never  had  any  erotic 
excitement  in  sexual  intercourse  with  her  husband.  She 
was  not  averse  to  coitus,  and  sometimes  seemed  to  experi- 
ence pleasure  in  it,  but  she  never  had  a  vsdsh  for  repetition 
of  cohabitation. 

In  connection  with  such  genuine  cases  of  anaesthesia,^ 

^No  doubt  Swift,  the  great  satirist,  was  a  case  of  anaesthesia  sexualis. 
Adolf  Stern  says  in  his  biography  of  Swift  ("  Aus  dem  18.  Jahrhundert; 
Biographische  Bilder  und  Skizzen,"  Leipzig,  1874)  :  "It  seems  that  he  was 
totally  devoid  of  the  sensual  elements  of  love ;  his  candid  cynicism,  found 
in  many  of  his  letters,  is  almost  definite  proof  of  it.  Whoever  properly 
grasps  certain  passages  in  '  Gulliver's  Travels,'  and  especially  the  account 
which  Swift  gives  of  the  marriage  and  progeny  of  the  Houyhnhnms, 
the  noble  steeds  of  the  last  chapters,  can  scarcely  doubt  that  this  great 
satirist  abhorred  marriage,  and  never  felt  the  impulse  which  draws  the 
sexes  together."     Practically  speaking,  the  enigmatical  side  of  Swift's 


CEREBRAL   NEUROSES — ANESTHESIA    SEXUALIS.         57 

there  should  be  considered  other  cases  in  which  the  mental 
side  of  the  vita  sexualis  is  a  blank  leaf  in  the  life  of 
the  individual,  but  where  elementary  sexual  sensations 
manifest  themselves  at  least  in  masturbation  (c/.  the 
transitional  case  6).  According  to  Magnan's  ingenious 
classification — which,  however,  is  not  strictly  correct  and 
somewhat  too  dogmatic — in  such  cases  the  sexual  life  is 
so  limited  as  to  be  designated  spinal.  Possibly  in  some 
such  cases  there  exists  virtually  a  mental  side  of  the  vita 
sexualis,  but  it  is  very  weak,  and  undermined  by  mastur- 
bation before  it  attains  development.  These  represent 
the  transitional  cases  from  the  congenital  to  the  acquired 
(psychical)  anesthesia  sexualis.  This  danger  threatens 
many  masturbators  of  vitiated  constitution.  It  is  psycho- 
logically interesting  that  when  the  sexual  element  is  early 
vitiated,  then  an  ethical  defect  is  manifested. 

The  two  following  cases,  previously  published  by  me 
in  the  "  Archiv  flir  Psychiatric,"  vii.,  are  given  here  as 
illustrations  worthy  of  consideration : — 

Case  8.  F.  X,  aged  nineteen,  student ;  mother  was 
nervous,  sister  epileptic.  At  the  age  of  four,  acute  brain 
affection,  lasting  two  weeks.  As  a  child  he  was  not 
affectionate,  and  was  cold  towards  his  parents ;  as  a 
student  he  was  peculiar,  retiring,  preoccupied  with  self, 
and  given  to  much  reading.  Well  endowed  mentally. 
Masturbation  from  fifteenth  year.  Eccentric  after  puberty, 
with  continual  vacillation  between  religious  enthusiasm 
and  materialism — now  studying  theology,  now  natural 
sciences.  At  the  university  his  fellow-students  took  him 
for  a  fool.  He  read  Jean  Paul  almost  exclusively,  and 
wasted  his  time.  Absolute  absence  of  sexual  feehng 
toward  the  opposite  sex.  Once  he  indulged  in  intercourse, 
experienced  no   sexual  feeling  in  the  act,   found  coitus 

character,  and  several  of  his  works,  m^.,  "  Diary  to  Stella"  and  "Gulli- 
ver's Travels,"  can  only  be  understood  if  Swift  i3  considered  sexualW 
anaesthetic. 


58  PSTCnorATHIA  sexualis. 

absurd,  and  did  not  repeat  it.  Without  any  emotional 
cause  whatever,  he  often  had  a  thought  of  suicide.  He 
made  it  the  subject  of  a  philosophical  dissertation,  in 
which  he  contended  that  it  was,  like  masturbation,  a 
justifiable  act.  After  repeated  experiments  which  he  made 
on  himself  with  various  poisons,  he  attempted  suicide  with 
fifty-seven  grains  of  opium,  but  he  was  saved  and  sent  to 
an  asylum. 

Patient  is  destitute  of  moral  and  social  feelings.  His 
writings  disclose  incredible  frivolity  and  vulgarity.  His 
knowledge  is  of  a  wide  range,  but  his  logic  is  pecuharly 
distorted.  There  is  no  trace  of  emotionality.  He  treats 
everything  (even  the  sublime)  with  incomparable  cynicism 
and  irony.  He  pleads  for  the  justification  of  suicide  with 
false  philosophical  premises  and  conclusions,  and,  as  one 
would  speak  of  the  most  indifferent  affair,  he  declares  that 
he  intends  to  accomplish  it.  He  regrets  that  his  pen- 
knife has  been  taken  from  him.  If  he  had  it,  he  would 
open  his  veins  as  Seneca  did — in  the  bath.  At  one  time 
a  friend  had  given  him,  instead  of  a  poison  as  he  sup- 
posed, a  cathartic.  Instead  of  having  been  a  means  of 
sending  him  to  the  other  world  it  had  sent  him  to  the 
water-closet.  Only  the  Great  Operator  could  eradicate  his 
foolish  and  fatal  idea  with  the  scythe  of  death,  etc. 

The  patient  has  a  large,  rhombic,  distorted  skull,  the 
left  half  of  the  forehead  being  flatter  than  the  right.  The 
occiput  is  very  straight.  Ears  far  back,  widely  projecting, 
and  the  external  meatus  forms  a  narrow  slit.  Genitals 
very  lax  ;  testicles  unusually  soft  and  small. 

Now  and  then  the  patient  suffers  with  onomatomania. 
He  is  compelled  to  think  of  the  most  useless  problems 
and  give  himself  up  to  an  interminable,  distressing  and 
worrying  thought ;  and  is  so  fatigued  after  it  that  he  is 
no  longer  capable  of  any  rational  thought.  After  some 
months  the  patient  was  sent  home  unimproved.  There 
he  spent  his  tunc  in  reading  and  frivolities,  and  busied 
himself  with  the  thought  of  founding  a  new  Christianity, 


CEREBRAL    NEUROSES — AN/ESTIIERIA    SEXUALIS.  59 

because  Christ  had  been  subject  to  grand  dehisions  and 
had  deceived  the  world  with  miracles  (!).  After  remaining 
at  home  some  years  the  sudden  occurrence  of  a  maniacal 
outbreak  brought  him  back  to  the  asylum.  He  presented 
a  mixture  of  primordial  delirium  of  persecution  (devil, 
antichrist,  persecution,  poisoning,  persecuting  voices) 
and  delusions  of  grandeur  (Christ,  redemption  of  the 
world),  with  impulsive,  incoherent  actions.  After  five 
months  there  was  a  remission  of  this  intercurrent  acute 
mental  disease,  and  the  patient  returned  to  the  level  of 
his  original  intellectual  peculiarity  and  moral  defect. 

Case  9.  E.,  aged  thirty,  journeyman  painter,  was 
arrested  while  trying  to  cut  off  the  scrotum  of  a  boy  he 
had  caught  in  the  woods.  He  gave  as  a  motive  for  this 
act  that  he  wished  to  cut  into  it  in  order  that  the  world 
should  not  multiply.  Often  in  his  youth,  with  like 
purpose,  he  had  cut  into  his  own  genitals. 

It  is  impossible  to  learn  anything  of  his  ancestry. 
From  his  childhood  he  was  mentally  abnormal,  violent, 
never  lively,  very  irritable,  irascible,  selfish  and  weak- 
minded.  He  hated  women,  loved  solitude,  and  read  much. 
He  sometimes  laughed  to  himself  and  did  silly  things. 
Of  late  years  his  hatred  of  women  had  increased,  especially 
of  those  that  were  pregnant,  they  being  responsible  for 
the  misery  of  the  world.  He  also  hated  children,  and 
cursed  liis  father.  He  entertained  communistic  ideas, 
and  berated  the  rich  and  the  ministry,  and  God,  who 
had  allowed  him  to  come  into  the  world  so  poor.  He 
declared  that  it  would  be  better  to  castrate  all  children 
than  to  allow  others  to  come  into  the  world  that  could 
only  be  fated  to  endure  poverty  and  misery.  He  had 
always  had  the  intention,  from  his  fifteenth  year,  of  cas- 
trating himself,  in  order  to  have  no  part  in  increasing  un- 
happiness  and  adding  to  the  number  of  men.  He  hated 
the  female  sex  because  it  was  a  means  of  procreation. 
Only  twice  in  his  life  had  he  allowed  women  to  practise 


GO  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

manustupration  on  him,  and,  with  the  exception  of  this 
he  had  never  had  anything  to  do  with  them.  Occasionally 
he  had  sexual  desire,  but  never  for  a  natural  gratification 
of  it.  When  nature  did  not  help  him,  he  occasionally 
helped  himself  by  means  of  masturbation. 

He  is  a  powerful,  muscular  man.  The  formation  of 
the  genitals  presents  no  abnormality.  On  the  scrotum 
and  penis  are  numerous  scars,  which  resulted  from  his 
attempts  at  self-emasculation,  but  which,  he  asserts,  were 
not  carried  out  on  account  of  pain.  Genu  valgum  of 
right  leg.  No  evidence  of  onanism  could  be  discovered. 
He  is  moody,  defiant,  irritable.  Social  feehngs  are  abso- 
lutely foreign  to  him.  With  the  exception  of  imperfect 
sleep  and  frequent  headaches,  there  are  no  functional  dis- 
turbances. 

From  cases  of  this  kind,  depending  on  cerebral  causes, 
there  must  be  distinguished  others  in  which  the  absence 
of  function  arises  from  an  absence  or  malformation  of  the 
generative  organs,  as  in  certain  hermaphrodites,  idiots  and 
cretins. 

UUzmanns  ^  observations  show  that  ancesthesia  sexualis 
is  not  caused  simply  by  aspermia.  He  shows  that  even  in 
congenital  aspermia  the  vita  sexualis  and  sexual  power 
may  be  entirely  satisfying ;  an  additional  proof  that  de- 
fective libido  ah  origine  is  to  be  sought  for  in  cerebral  con- 
ditions. 

The  naturcB  frigidce  of  Zacchias  are  examples  of  a  milder 
form  of  anaesthesia.  They  are  met  more  frequently  among 
women  than  among  men.  The  characteristic  signs  of  this 
anomaly  are :  shght  inclination  to  sexual  intercourse,  or 
pronounced  disinchnation  to  coitus  without  sexual  equiva- 
lent, and  failure  of  corresponding  psychical,  pleasurable 
excitation  during  coitus,  which  is  indulged  in  simply  from 

K'Ueber  mannliche  Sterilitat,"  Wiener  med.  Presse,  1878,  Nr.  1. 
"Ueber  Potentia  generandi  et  coeundi,"  Wiener  Klinik,  1885,  Heft  1, 
S.  5. 


CEREBRAL   NEUROSES— ANESTHESIA   SEXUALIS.         61 

sense  of  duty.  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  hear  com- 
plaints from  husbands  about  this.  In  such  cases  the 
wives  have  always  proved  to  be  neuropathic  ab  origine. 
Some  were  at  the  same  time  hysterical. 

2.  Acquired  Ancesthesia. 

Acquired  dimmution  of  sexual  instinct,  extending 
through  all  degrees  to  extinction,  may  depend  on  various 
causes.  These  may  be  organic  and  functional,  psychical 
and  somatic,  central  and  peripheral.  The  diminution  of 
libido,  as  age  advances,  and  its  temporary  disappearance 
after  the  sexual  act,  are  physiological.  The  variations 
with  reference  to  the  duration  of  the  sexual  instinct 
are  dependent  upon  individual  factors.  Education  and 
manner  of  hfe  have  a  great  influence  upon  the  intensity 
of  the  vita  sexualis.  Intense  mental  activity  (hard  study), 
physical  exertion,  emotional  depression,  and  sexual  con- 
tinence decidedly  diminish  sexual  inclination.  Continence 
at  first  induces  increase,  but  sooner  or  later,  according  to 
constitutional  conditions,  the  activity  of  the  generative 
organs  decreases,  and  with  it  libido.  At  all  events,  in  a 
person  sexually  mature,  a  close  connection  exists  between 
the  activity  of  the  generative  glands  and  the  degree  of 
libido.  That  this  relation  is  not  determinate  is  shown  by 
the  cases  of  sensual  women,  who,  after  the  chmacterium, 
continue  to  have  sexual  intercourse,  and  may  manifest 
states  of  sexual  excitement  (cerebral).  Also  in  eunuchs  it 
is  seen  that  libido  may  long  outlast  the  production  of  semen. 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  experience  teaches  that 
libido  is  essentially  conditioned  by  the  functions  of  the 
generative  glands,  and  that  the  facts  mentioned  are  ex- 
ceptional manifestations.  As  peripheral  causes  of  diminu- 
tion or  extinction  of  libido,  may  be  mentioned  castration, 
degeneration  of  the  sexual  glands,  marasmus,  sexual 
excesses  in  the  form  of  coitus  and  masturbation,  and 
alcoholism  and  abuse  of  cocaine.  In  the  same  way, 
the    disappearance    of    libido   in    general   disturbances  of 


62  rSYCIIOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

nutrition  (diabetes,  morphinism,  etc.)  may  be  explaiiied. 
Finally,  the  atrophy  of  the  testicles  should  be  remem- 
bered, which  has  sometimes  been  observed  to  follow  focal 
lesions  of  the  brain  (cerebellum). 

A  diminution  of  the  vita  sexualis  from  degeneration 
of  the  tracts  of  the  cord  and  genito  -  spinal  centre, 
occurs  in  diseases  of  the  spinal  cord  and  brain.  A 
central  interference  with  the  sexual  instinct  may  be  or- 
ganically induced  by  cortical  disease  (dementia  paralytica 
in  its  advanced  stages)  ;  functionally,  by  hysteria  (cen- 
tral ana3sthesia  ?)  and  emotional  insanity  (melanchoHa, 
hypochondria). 

C.  Hypersesthesia  (Abnormally  Increased  Sexual  Desire). 

Pathology  has  no  easy  task,  even  in  the  single  case, 
when  it  has  to  decide  whether  the  impulse  to  sexual  satis- 
faction has  reached  a  pathological  degree.  Emmimjhaus 
("  Pychopathologie,"  p.  225)  declares  that  the  immediate 
re-awakening  of  desire  after  satisfaction,  absorbing  the 
entire  attention  of  the  mind,  and  no  less  the  excitation  of 
libido  by  the  sight  of  persons  and  things  which  in  them- 
selves should  have  but  an  indifferent  sexual  effect,  are 
decidedly  abnormal.  In  general,  sexual  instinct  and  its 
corresponding  needs  are  in  proportion  to  physical  strength 
and  age.  Sexual  desire  rapidly  increases  after  puberty, 
until  it  reaches  a  marked  degree  ;  it  is  strongest  from 
the  twentieth  to  the  fortieth  year,  and  then  slowly  de- 
creases. Married  hfe  seems  to  preserve  and  control  the 
instinct.  Sexual  intercourse  with  many  persons  increases 
the  desire. 

Since  woman  has  less  sexual  need  than  man,  a  pre- 
dominating sexual  desire  in  her  arouses  a  suspicion  of  its 
pathological  significance ;  and  the  more,  when  this  finds 
expression  in  desire  for  adornment,  coquetry,  or  male 
society,  which,  passing  beyond  the  limits  set  by  good 
breeding  and  manners,  becumes  quite  noticeable. 


CEREBRAL   NEUROSES — HYPERiESTHE£IA.  68 

The  constitution,  in  both  sexes,  is  of  the  greatest 
significance.  An  abnormally  strong  sexual  instinct  is 
frequently  accompanied  by  a  neuropathic  constitution; 
and  such  individuals  pass  a  great  part  of  their  lives 
heavily  burdened  with  the  weight  of  this  constitutional 
anomaly  of  their  sexual  life.  The  power  of  the  sexual 
impulse  in  such  cases  may  at  times  rise  to  the  importance 
of  an  organic  necessity,  and  really  endanger  tbe  freedom  of 
the  will.  The  want  of  satisfaction  of  this  impulsive  desire 
may,  under  such  conditions,  induce  a  condition  alhed  to 
actual  rutting,  or  a  psychical  condition,  accompanied  by 
emotions  of  anxiety,  in  which  the  individual  yields  to  the 
impulse,  and  responsibility  becomes  doubtful. 

If  the  individual  does  not  give  himself  up  to  his  power- 
ful impulse,  he  is  in  danger,  by  reason  of  his  enforced 
abstineuce,  of  ruining  his  nervous  system  by  inducing 
a  neurasthenia,  or  seriously  increasing  the  evil  effects 
of  such  a  condition  if  it  be  already  present. 

In  normally  constituted  individuals,  too,  the  sexual 
instinct  is  an  inconstant  quantity.  Aside  from  the  tem- 
porary indifference  following  satisfaction,  and  the  diminu- 
tion of  sexual  desire  in  long-continued  continence  after  a 
certain  reactionary  stage  of  sexual  desire  is  overcome,  tlie 
manner  of  life  exerts  great  influence.  Those  living  in 
large  cities,  who  are  constantly  reminded  of  sexual  things 
and  incited  to  sexual  enjoyment,  certainly  have  more 
sexual  desire  than  those  living  in  the  country.  A  dissi- 
pated, luxurious,  sedentary  manner  of  life,  preponderance 
of  animal  food,  and  the  consumption  of  spirits,  spices,  etc., 
have  a  stimulating  influence  on  the  sexual  life.  In  woman 
the  sexual  inclination  is  post-menstrually  increased.  At 
this  period,  in  neuropathic  women,  the  excitement  may 
reach  a  pathological  degree. 

The  great  libido  of  consumptives  is  remarkable.  Hof- 
mann  tells  of  a  consumptive  peasant  who  satisfied  his 
wife  sexually  on  the  evening  before  his  death. 

The  sexual  acts  are  coitus   (eventually  rape),  faute  de 


64  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

mieux,  masturbation,  and  with  defective  moral  sense, 
pederasty  or  bestiality.  If  sexual  power  is  diminished  or 
extinct,  with  excessive  sexual  desire  all  manner  of  per- 
versity of  sexual  acts  become  possible. 

Excessive  libido  may  be  peripherally  or  centrally  in- 
duced. The  former  manner  of  origin  is  the  more  infre- 
quent. Pruritus  and  eczema  of  the  genitals  may  cause  it, 
and  likewise  certain  substances,  like  cantharides,  which 
powerfully  stimulate  sexual  desire. 

Not  infrequently  in  women  at  the  climacteric  period 
sexual  excitement  occurs,  occasioned  by  pruritus,  and 
also  in  cases  where  there  is  neuropathic  taint.  Magnan 
("Annales  medico-psychol.,"1885,  p.  157)  reports  the  case  of 
a  lady  who  was  afflicted  in  the  mornings  with  attacks  of 
frightful  erethismus  genitalis,  and  the  case  of  a  man  aged 
fifty-five  who  was  tormented  at  night  by  unbearable 
priapism.     In  each  case  there  was  a  neurosis. 

The  central  origin  of  sexual  excitement  can  often  be 
traced^  in  persons  having  neurotic  taint  or  hysteria  and 
in  conditions  of  psychical  exaltation.  When  the  cortex 
and  the  psycho-sexual  centre  are  in  a  condition  of  hyper- 
assthesia  (abnormal  excitability  of  the  imagination,  in- 
creased ease  of  association),  not  only  visual  and  tactile 
impressions,  but  also  auditory  and  olfactory  sensations, 
may  be  sufficient  to  call  up  lascivious  conceptions. 

Magnan  {ojj.  cit.)  reports  the  case  of  a  young  woman 

^  In  individuals  in  whom  intense  sexual  hyperjesthesia  is  associated 
with  acquired  irritable  weakness  of  the  sexual  apparatus,  it  happens  that 
simply  at  the  sight  of  a  pleasing  female  figure,  without  peripheral 
irritation  of  the  genitals,  the  psycho-sexual  centre  may  excite  into  action 
not  only  the  mechanism  of  erection,  but  also  that  of  ejaculation.  For 
such  individuals,  all  that  is  necessary  to  induce  orgasm  or  even  ejacula- 
tion is  to  imagine  themselves  in  a  sexual  situation  with  a  female  that 
sits  opposite  them  in  a  railway  carriage  or  a  drawing-room.  Hanwiond 
[op.  cit.,  p.  40)  describes  several  cases  of  this  kind  that  came  to  him  for 
treatment  of  subsequent  impotence,  and  he  mentions  that  these  indi- 
viduals used  the  term  "  ideal  coitus  "  for  the  act.  Dr.  Moll,  of  Berlin,  told 
me  of  a  similar  case,  and  in  this  instance  the  same  designation  was 
chosen  for  the  act. 


CEREBRAL  NEUROSES — HYPERESTHESIA.  65 

who  had  an  increasing  sexual  desire  from  puberty,  and 
satisfied  it  by  masturbation.  Gradually  she  grew  to  be- 
come sexually  excited  at  the  sight  of  any  man  pleasing  to 
her  ;  and,  since  she  was  unable  to  control  herself,  she  would 
sometimes  shut  herself  up  in  a  room  until  the  storm  had 
passed.  At  last  she  gave  herself  up  to  men  of  her  choice, 
that  she  might  get  rest  from  her  tormenting  desire,  but 
neither  coitus  nor  masturbation  brought  relief,  and  she 
went  to  an  asylum. 

The  case  of  a  mother  of  five  children  is  added,  who,  in 
despair  about  her  inordinate  sexual  impulse,  attempted 
suicide,  and  then  sought  an  asylum.  There  her  condition 
improved,  but  she  never  trusted  herself  to  leave  it. 

There  are  several  illustrative  cases  in  men  and  women 
in  the  author's  article,  "  On  Certain  Anomahes  of  Sexual 
Instinct,"  cases  6  and  7  ("  Archiv  fiir  Psychiatric,"  vii., 
2) ;  cases  3  and  5  are  given  here. 

Case  1 0.  On  the  afternoon  of  7th  July,  1874,  Clemens, 
engineer,  being  on  his  way,  on  business,  from  Trieste  to 
Vienna,  left  the  train  at  the  town  of  Brack,  and,  passing 
through  the  town  to  the  neighbouring  village  of  St.  Eu- 
precht,  attempted  a  rape  on  an  old  woman,  aged  seventy, 
whom  he  found  alone  in  a  house.  He  was  seized  by  the 
neighbours  and  arrested  by  the  local  police.  At  his  hearing 
he  declared  that  he  had  tried  to  find  the  pound,  in  order 
to  satisfy  his  sexual  desire  with  a  bitch.  He  said  that  he 
often  suffered  with  such  sexual  excitement.  He  did  not 
deny  his  act,  but  excused  it  as  the  result  of  disease.  The 
heat,  the  motion  of  the  cars,  and  anxiety  about  his  family, 
to  whom  he  wished  to  go,  had  confused  him  and  made 
him  ill.  Shame  and  remorse  were  not  shown.  His 
conduct  was  open,  his  mien  gay ;  eyes  red  and  bright, 
head  hot,  tongue  coated;  pulse  full,  soft,  beating  over 
100 ;  fingers  somewhat  tremulous.  The  statements  of 
the  accused  were  precise  but  hurried ;  his  glance  uncer- 
tain, and  with  an  unmistakable  expression  of  lascivious- 

5 


66  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

ness.  To  the  medical  expert  summoned  to  examine  him 
he  gave  the  impression  of  one  suffering  with  disease — as 
if  he  were  in  the  beginning  of  alcohoHc  insanity. 

C.  is  forty-five  years  old,  married,  father  of  one  child. 
He  does  not  know  what  diseases  his  parents  or  other 
members  of  his  family  have  had.  In  childhood  he  was 
weak  and  neuropathic.  At  the  age  of  five  his  head  was 
injured  by  a  blow  with  a  hoe.  A  scar  one-half  cm.  broad 
by  one  cm.  long,  situated  on  the  right  parietal  and  frontal 
bones,  dates  from  that  injury.  The  bone  is  here  some- 
what depressed.  The  overlying  skin  is  united  to  the 
bone.  Pressure  at  this  point  causes  pain,  which  radiates 
along  the  lower  branch  of  the  trigeminus.  This  spot  is 
also  at  times  spontaneously  painful.  In  his  youth  he 
suffered  "fainting  spells";  before  puberty,  pneumonia 
rheumatism  and  intestinal  catarrh.  At  the  age  of  seven 
he  experienced  a  peculiar  inclination  for  men — i.e.,  for  a 
certain  superior.  Whenever  he  saw  this  man  he  had  a 
peculiar  feeling  in  his  heart;  kissed  the  ground  he  walked 
on.  At  ten  he  fell  in  love  with  a  certain  deputy.  Later 
he  had  an  enthusiasm  for  men,  though  it  was  entirely 
platonic.  He  began  to  masturbate  at  the  age  of  fourteen; 
first  intercourse  at  seventeen.  Then  the  earlier  mani- 
festations of  contrary  sexual  feeling  disappeared  entirely. 
At  that  time  he  passed  through  a  peculiar  acute  psycho- 
pathic condition,  which  he  described  as  a  kind  of  clair- 
voyance. From  fifteen,  haemorrhoids,  with  symptoms  of 
abdominal  plethora.  When  he  had  profuse  heemorrhoidal 
haemorrhage,  which  occurred  usually  every  three  or  four 
weeks,  he  was  better.  At  other  times  he  was  constantly 
in  a  condition  of  painful  sexual  excitement,  which  he 
satisfied  partly  by  means  of  onanism  and  partly  by 
coitus.  Every  woman  he  met  excited  him  ;  even  when 
he  was  among  female  relatives  he  was  impelled  to  make 
indecent  proposals.  Sometimes  it  was  possible  for  him  to 
master  his  desire  ;  sometimes  he  was  driven  to  indecent 
acts.      If,   after   these,   he  was   kicked   out   of  doors,  it 


CEEEBBAL   NEUEOSES — HYPEK^STHESIA.  (37 

seemed  perfectly  right  to  him ;  for  he  thought  that  he 
needed  such  correction  and  support  against  his  powerful 
impulse,  which  was  a  burden  to  him.  No  periodicity  in 
this  sexual  excitement  was  recognisable. 

Until  1861  he  committed  excesses  in  venery  and  was 
several  times  infected  with  gonorrhoea  and  chancres.  In 
1861,  marriage.  He  was  sexually  satisfied,  but  became  a 
burden  to  his  wife  on  account  of  his  great  sensuality.  In 
1864  he  passed  through  an  attack  of  mania  in  the  hospital 
at  Fiume,  and  in  the  same  year  he  again  fell  ill,  and  was 
taken  to  the  insane  asylum  at  Ybbs,  where  he  remained 
until  1867.  There  he  suffered  with  recurrent  mania, 
accompanied  by  great  sexual  excitement.  He  says  that 
intestinal  catarrh  and  anxiety  were  the  cause  of  his  illness 
at  that  time. 

Thereafter  he  was  well,  but  he  suffered  much  on 
account  of  his  excessive  sexual  desire.  If  he  were  ab- 
sent from  his  wife  but  a  short  time  the  impulse  became 
so  powerful  that  man  or  animal  was  indifferent  to  him  for 
the  satisfaction  of  his  lust.  In  summer  these  impulses 
were  much  stronger,  and  were  always  accompanied  by 
abdominal  plethora.  Something  that  he  remembered  in 
medical  reading  made  him  think  that  in  his  case  the 
ganglionic  system  was  more  powerful  than  the  cerebral. 
In  October,  1873,  on  account  of  business,  he  had  to  leave 
his  wife.  From  that  time  until  Easter,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  occasional  masturbation,  there  was  no  sexual 
indulgence.  After  that  he  made  use  of  women  and 
bitches.  From  the  middle  of  June  until  7th  July,  he  had 
no  opportunity  for  sexual  indulgence.  He  felt  nervously 
excited,  related,  and  as  if  he  were  going  crazy.  Of  late 
he  had  slept  badly.  A  longing  for  his  wife,  who  lived  in 
Vienna,  drove  him  to  leave  his  business.  He  obtained 
leave  of  absence.  The  heat  and  the  noise  of  the  train 
confused  him,  and  he  could  no  longer  hold  out  against 
his  sexual  excitement  and  the  pressure  of  blood  in  his 
abdomen.     Everything  danced  before  his  eyes.     He  left 


68  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

the  car  at  Brnck,  and  was  absolutely  confused,  not 
knowing  where  he  went ;  and  for  a  moment  the  thought 
came  to  him  to  throw  himself  in  the  water ;  all  was  like 
a  mist  before  his  eyes.  Then  he  saw  a  woman,  exposed 
his  genitals,  and  tried  to  embrace  her.  She  cried  for 
help,  and  thus  he  was  arrested. 

After  the  attempt  it  suddenly  became  clear  to  him 
what  he  had  done.  He  openly  confessed  his  crime, 
which  he  remembered  in  all  its  details,  but  which  seemed 
to  him  to  be  something  abnormal.  He  could  not  help  it. 
For  some  days  after  this  C.  suffered  with  headache  and 
congestions,  and  was  now  and  then  excited  and  restless, 
and  slept  badly.  His  mental  functions  are  undisturbed, 
but  he  is,  nevertheless,  a  congenitally  peculiar  man, 
with  a  character  weak  and  devoid  of  energy.  The  facial 
expression  has  something  lascivious  and'pecuHar  about 
it.  He  suffers  with  haemorrhoids.  The  genitals  present 
nothing  abnormal.  The  cranium  is  narrow  and  retreat- 
ing at  the  forehead.  Body  large  and  well  nourished. 
With  the  exception  of  diarrhoea,  there  is  no  disturbance 
of  the  vegetative  functions. 

Case  1 1 .  Mrs.  E.,  aged  forty-seven.  Uncle  on  father's 
side  was  insane  ;  father  was  sanguine,  and  given  to  excess 
in  venery.  Patient's  brother  died  of  an  acute  cerebral 
affection.  Patient  from  childhood  has  been  nervous, 
eccentric,  and  romantic,  and  while  little  more  than  a 
child  manifested  excessive  sexual  desire,  and  at  ten  began 
sexual  indulgence.  At  nineteen,  marriage.  Unhappy 
married  life ;  her  husband,  who  was  normal,  did  not 
satisfy  her,  and  until  recent  years  she  constantly  had  other 
friends  besides  her  husband.  She  was  well  aware  of  the 
immorality  of  her  life,  but  felt  her  powerlessness  against 
her  insatiable  desire,  which  she  sought  to  keep,  at  least 
outwardlj^,  a  secret.  Later  she  thought  that  she  had 
suffered  with  a  "  mania  for  men  ".  Patient  has  borne  six 
children.     Six  years  ago  she  was  thrown  from  a  waggon 


CEEEBEAL   NEUROSES — HYPERESTHESIA..  69 

and  received  a  severe  cerebral  concussion.  Following  this 
there  was  melanchoha,  with  delusions  of  persecution, 
which  sent  her  to  the  asylum.  She  is  approaching  the 
climacterium,  and  of  late  the  menses  have  been  profuse 
and  too  frequent.  Since  this  period  she  is  pleased  to  note 
that  the  previously  powerful  sexual  impulse  has  declined. 
Proper  behaviour.  Slight  degree  of  descensus  uteri  and 
prolapsus  ani. 

Hyperesthesia  sexualis  may  be  continuously  present 
with  exacerbations,  or  it  may  be  intermittent  or  periodic. 
In  the  latter  case  it  is  a  cerebral  neurosis  per  se  {vide 
"  Special  Pathology  "),  or  an  accompanying  symptom  of  a 
condition  of  general  psychical  excitement  (mania  ;  episod- 
ically in  dementia  paralytica,  dementia  senihs,  etc.). 

Lentz  has  pubhshed  a  remarkable  case  of  intermittent 
satyriasis  ("  Bulletin  de  la  societe  de  med.  legale  de  Belgique," 
Nr.  21)  :— 

Case  12.  For  three  years  Farmer  D.,  universally  re- 
spected, married,  aged  thirty-five,  has  manifested  states 
of  sexual  excitement  with  increasing  frequency  and 
severity,  which  during  the  past  year  have  become  true 
paroxysms  of  satyriasis.  It  was  impossible  to  discover 
hereditary  or  other  organic  causes.  D.  was  compelled  at 
times,  when  his  sexual  excitement  was  excessive,  to  per- 
form the  sexual  act  from  ten  to  fifteen  times  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  without  deriving  any  feeling  of  satisfaction. 
Gradually  he  developed  a  condition  of  general  nervous 
hyper-irritability  {erethisme  general)  with  increased  emo- 
tional irritability  to  the  extent  of  pathological  outbreaks 
of  anger,  and  impulse  to  over  indulgence  in  alcohol,  which 
induced  symptoms  of  alcoholism.  His  attacks  of  satyri- 
asis became  so  violent  that  consciousness  was  interfered 
with,  and  the  patient  raged  about  in  blind  impulse  to 
sexual  acts.  He  demanded  that  his  wife  give  herself  to 
other  men  or  to  animils  in  his  presence;  that  she  allow 


70  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS 

copulation  with  him,  ^jresen^i/ms  filiabus,  because  this  would 
afford  him  greater  enjoyment.  Memory  for  the  events  of 
these  attacks,  in  which  the  extreme  irritabihty  even  led 
to  outbreaks  of  maniacal  rage,  was  entirely  wanting.  D. 
himself  thought  that  he  must  have  had  moments  in  which 
he  no  longer  had  control  of  his  senses,  and  without  satis- 
faction from  his  wife  would  have  been  compelled  to  seize 
the  next  best  female.  After  an  attack  of  violent  emotion 
these  attacks  of  sexual  excitement  suddenly  disappeared. 

The  two  following  cases  show  how  powerful,  dangerous 
and  painful  sexual  hyperaesthesia  may  become  in  those 
afflicted  with  this  anomaly  : — 

Case  13.  Hypercesthesia  Sexualis — Delirium  acutum  ex 
abstinentia.—On  '29th  May,  1882,  F.,  aged  twenty-nniCf 
single,  shoemaker,  was  received  at  the  clinic.  Father 
was  of  passionate  temper  ;  mother  neuropathic,  and  had 
an  insane  brother.  Patient  had  never  been  seriously  ill 
previously,  and  was  not  a  drinker ;  had  always  been 
sexually  very  passionate.  Five  days  before,  he  was  taken 
acutely  ill  mentally.  He  made  two  attempts  at  rape  in 
broad  daylight  before  witnesses,  and  when  arrested  talked 
in  delirium  only  of  obscene  things,  masturbated  inces- 
santly and  from  the  third  day  on  flew  into  furious  rages. 
On  admission  he  showed  all  the  symptoms  of  severe  acute 
delirium,  with  violent  motor  symptoms  of  irritation  and 
fever.     Under  treatment  with  ergotin  a  cure  was  effected. 

On  5th  January,  1888,  second  admission,  in  a  state  of 
violent  mania.  On  4th  January  he  had  become  morose, 
irritable,  lachrymose  and  sleepless  ;  and  then,  after  vain 
assaults  on  women,  had  manifested  symptoms  of  increas- 
ing furious  excitement. 

On  6th  January,  progress  of  the  condition  to  severe 
acute  delirium  (great  disturbance  of  consciousness,  jacta- 
tion, grinding  of  the  teeth,  grimacing,  and  other  motor 
symptoms  of  irritation  ;  temperature  as  high  as  40.7°  C.) , 


CEREBRAL    NEUROSES — llYrER^ESTHESIA.  j'l 

impulsive  masturbation.     Recovery  was  complete  by  ilth 
January,  under  energetic  treatment  with  ergotin. 

After  bis  recovety  the  patient  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  the  cause  of  his  illness.  Always  very  passionate 
sexually  ;  first  coitus  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Continence 
caused  headache,  great  psychical  irritability,  lassitude, 
great  loss  of  pleasure  in  work,  and  sleeplessness.  Since 
he  had  few  opportunities  in  the  country  to  satisfy  his 
desire,  he  had  recourse  to  masturbation.  It  was  necessary 
for  him  to  masturbate  once  or  twice  daily.  No  coitus  in 
two  months.  Increasing  sexual  excitement  ;  could  think 
of  nothing  save  means  for  the  gratification  of  his  impulse. 
Masturbation  was  not  sufficient  to  banish  the  constantly 
increasing  torment  ex  ahstinentia.  During  the  last  few 
days  violent  impulse  to  coitus ;  mcreasing  sleeplessness 
and  irritability.  There  was  only  a  summary  recollection 
of  the  height  of  the  illness.  Patient  recovered  in  Decem- 
ber. A  very  respectable  man  ;  he  considers  his  inordinate 
desire  decidedly  pathologicaf,  and  is  anxious  about  his 
future. 

Case  14.  On  11th  July,  1884,  R.,  aged  thirty-three, 
servant,  was  admitted  suffering  with  paranoia  perseczitoria 
and  neurasthenia  sexualis.  Mother  was  neuropathic ; 
father  died  of  spmal  disease.  From  childhood  he  had  an 
intense  sexual  desire,  of  which  he  became  conscious  as 
early  as  his  sixth  year.  From  this  age,  masturbation ; 
from  fifteenth  year, /aw^e  de  mieux,  pederasty;  occasionally, 
sodomitic  indulgences.  Later,  ahiisiis  coitus  in  matrimonio 
cum  uxore.  Now  and  then  even  perverse  impulse  to 
commit  cunmlingus  and  to  administer  cantharides  to  his 
wife,  because  her  libido  did  not  equal  his  own.  His  wife 
died  after  a  short  period  of  married  life.  Patient's  cir- 
cumstances became  straitened,  and  he  had  no  moans  to 
indulge  himself  sexually.  Then  masturbation  again  ;  em- 
ployment of  lingua  canis  to  induce  ejaculation.  At  times, 
priapism  and  conditions  approaching  satyriasis.     He  was 


72  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

then  driven  to  masturbate,  in  order  to  avoid  rape.  With 
gradually  predominating  sexual  neurasthenia  and  hypo- 
chondria came  beneficial  diminution  of  libido  nimia. 

The  following  case,  valuable  for  an  understanding  of 
many  Messalinas,  some  of  vi^hom  are  historically  celebrated* 
is  a  classical  example  of  pure  hypercBsthesia  sexualis,  vi^hich 
I  take  from  Trelat's  "  FoHe  lucide  "  : — 

Case  1 5.  Mrs.  V.  has  suffered  v^ith  a  passion  for  men 
since  her  earliest  youth.  Of  good  family,  well  bred,  of 
pleasant  disposition,  exceedingly  modest,  she  was,  as  a 
little  girl,  a  terror  to  her  family,  because  she  could  scarcely 
be  alone  with  a  person  of  the  opposite  sex,  no  matter 
whether  it  was  with  child  or  man  of  any  age,  without 
exposing  herself  immediately  and  demanding  satisfaction 
for  her  sexual  passion,  even  going  so  far  as  to  lay  hold  of 
him.  An  attempt  was  made  to  cure  her  by  marriage. 
She  loved  her  husband  passionately,  but  even  with  him 
she  could  not  keep  from  demanding  coitus  of  every  one 
with  whom  she  could  be  alone,  no  matter  whether  it  was 
servant,  labourer,  or  school-boy. 

Nothing  could  cure  her  of  this  impulse.  Even  when 
she  became  a  grandmother,  she  was  still  a  Messalina. 
One  day  she  locked  a  twelve-year-old  boy  in  her  room 
and  tried  to  seduce  him.  The  boy  defended  himself  and 
escaped.  She  was  severely  punished  by  his  brother.  All 
was  in  vain.  She  was  put  in  a  cloister.  There  she  was 
an  example  of  morality,  and  gave  not  the  slightest  cause 
for  blame.  Immediately  after  her  return  the  scandal 
began  again.  The  family  banished  her,  and  set  aside 
money  to  support  her.  She  earned  by  her  own  handi- 
work enough  to  buy  herself  lovers.  Any  one  seeing  this 
neatly  dressed  matron,  of  good  manners  and  amiable  dis- 
position, would  never  suspect  how  recklessly  passionate 
she  still  was  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  On  7th  January, 
1854,  her  family,  in  despair  at  new  scandals,  placed  her 


CEREBRAL  NEUROSES — HYPERESTHESIA.  73 

in  an  asylnm.  She  lived  there  until  Ma}^  1858,  when  she 
died  of  cerebral  apoplexy,  in  her  seventy-third  year.  Her 
conduct  in  the  asylum  was  exemplary.  Left  to  herself, 
and  under  favourable  conditions,  her  sexual  impulses 
manifested  themselves  shortly  before  her  death.  With 
the  exception  of  this,  during  an  observation  of  four  years 
by  physicians  of  the  asylum,  she  never  showed  a  sign  of 
mental  abnormality. 

A  particular  species  of  hypercesthesia  sexualis  may  be 
found  in  females  in  whom  a  most  impulsive  desire  for 
sexual  intercourse  with  certain  men  imperatively  demands 
gratification.  No  doubt  "  unrequited  love  "  for  another 
man  may  often  affect  the  married  woman  who  does  not 
either  psychically  or  physically  {impotentia  mariti)  ex- 
perience connubial  satisfaction ;  but  the  normal,  untainted 
wife  guided  by  ethical  reasons  knows  how  to  conquer 
herself. 

Of  course,  pathological  conditions  change  the  situation. 

Fetichism  must  here  be  considered.  Sexual  impulse  is 
overpowering,  at  times  periodically  recurrent.  The  very 
attempt  to  overcome  it  produces  most  painful  attacks  of 
worry  and  anxiety.  This  pathological  want  becomes 
so  powerful  that  all  considerations  of  shame,  convention- 
ality and  womanly  honour  simply  disappear,  and  it  reveals 
itself  in  the  most  shameless  manner  even  to  the  husband, 
whilst  the  normal  woman,  endowed  with  full  moral  con- 
sciousness, knows  how  to  conceal  the  terrible  secret. 

Magnan (''FsychiaLtr.  VorlesuQgen")  quotes  two  striking 
instances  from  his  own  experience.  One  is  specially 
instructive.  A  young  woman,  mother  of  three  children, 
with  a  blameless  past,  but  daughter  of  a  lunatic,  tells  her 
husband  one  day  openly  that  she  is  in  love  with  a  certain 
young  man  and  that  she  would  kill  herself  if  her  intimate 
relations  with  him  were  interfered  with.  She  begs  per- 
mission to  live  with  him  for  six  months  in  order  to  quench 
the  fire  of  her  passion,  wnen   she   would  return  to  her 


74  PSYCHOrATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

family  again.  Husband  and  children  have  no  place  in  her 
heart  with  her  present  love.  The  husband  took  her  to  a 
foreign  country  and  placed  her  there  under  medical  treat- 
ment. 

This  pathological  love  of  married  women  for  other  men 
is  a  phenomenon  in  the  domain  of  psychopathia  sexualis 
which  sadly  stands  in  need  of  scientific  explanation.  The 
author  has  had  the  opportunity  of  observing  five  cases 
belonging  to  this  category.  The  pathological  conditions 
were  paroxysmal,  in  one  case  repeatedly  recurrent ; 
but  always  sharply  distinct  from  the  unaffected,  healthy 
period,  duriiig  which  deep  sorrow  and  contrition  over  the 
occurrence  were  manifested.  But  it  was  the  sorrow  over 
an  unavoidable  fatality  caused  by  psychically  abnormal 
conditions. 

Whilst  the  pathological  conditions  lasted,  absolute  in- 
difference, even  hatred,  prevailed  towards  husband  and 
children,  and  an  utter  want  of  understandmg  the  bearings 
and  consequences  of  the  scandalous  behaviour,  jeopardising 
the  honour  and  dignity  of  wife  and  family,  were  noticeable. 
It  is  remarkable  that  in  all  these  cases  the  husband  and 
relatives  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  condition 
was  caused  by  psychopathia,  even  before  they  had  obtained 
3xpert  opinion. 

As  against  the  "  non-psychopathical  "  but  otherwise 
abnormally  hbidinous  Messalmas,  it  is  well  worthy  of  note 
that  this  sexual  aberration  is  only  an  episode  in  the  life  of 
the  otherwise  honourable  woman,  and  that  the  illicit  inter- 
course was  of  a  strictly  monogamic  character.  This,  and 
particularly  the  circumstance  that  the  unfortunate  woman 
was  not  omnium  virorum  mulier,  but  only  the  mistress  of 
one  man,  establishes  a  distinct  difference  from  nympho- 
mania. In  three  of  the  cases  mentioned  above,  the  grossly 
sensual  momentum  was  missing,  the  real  motive  for  marital 
infidelity  was  to  be  found  in  a  letich-like  charm,  in  mental 
superior  qualities, — in  one  case  the  voice  of  the  charmer, 

in    two   cases   unmistakable    proofs    of    hyperesthesia 


CEREBRAL    NEUROSES — PARiESTHESIA    OF    FEELING.       75 

sexualis  and  of  absolute  impotence  towards  the  husband 
were  found,  whilst  the  merest  touch  of  the  other  man 
produced  orgasm,  and  the  sexual  act  the  acme  of  pleasure. 
Of  course,  in  these  latter  cases  absolute  sexual  abandon- 
ment followed. 


D.    Paraesthesia   of   Sexual    Feeling   (Perversion   of  the 
Sexual  Instinct). 

In  this  condition  there  is  perverse  emotional  colouring, 
of  the  sexual  ideas.  Ideas  physiologically  and  psycho- 
logically accompanied  by  feehngs  of  disgust,  give  rise  to 
pleasurable  sexual  feelings ;  and  the  abnormal  association 
finds  expression  in  passionate,  uncontrollable  emotion. 
The  practical  results  are  perverse  acts  (perversion  of  the 
sexual  instinct).  This  is  more  easily  the  case  if  the 
pleasurable  feelings,  increased  to  passionate  intensity, 
inhibit  any  opposing  ideas  with  corresponding  feelings 
of  disgust ;  or  the  influence  of  such  opposing  conceptions 
may  be  rendered  impossible  on  account  of  the  absence  or 
loss  of  all  ideas  of  morality,  sesthetics  and  law.  This  loss, 
however,  is  only  too  frequently  found  where  the  spring 
well  of  ethical  ideas  and  feelings  (a  normal  sexual  in- 
stinct) has  been  poisoned  from  the  beginning. 

With  opportunity  Jor  the  natural  satisfaction  of  the 
sexual  instinct,  every  expression  of  it  that  does  not  cor- 
respond with  the  purpose  of  nature — i.e.,  propagation — 
must  be  regarded  as  perverse.  The  perverse  sexual  acts 
re.^^uUing  from  paropsthesia  are  of  the  greatest  importance 
clinically,  socially,  and  forensically ;  and,  therefore,  they 
must  here  receive  careful  consideration  ;  all  aesthetic  and 
moral  disgust  must  be  overcome. 

Perversion  of  the  sexual  instinct,  as  will  be  seen  farther 
on,  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  perversity  in  the  sexual 
act ;  since  the  latter  may  be  induced  by  conditions  other 
than  psycho-patholf)gical .  The  concrete  perverse  act,  mon- 
strous as  it  niny  be,  is  clinically  not  decisive.     In  order 


76  PSYCnOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

to  differentiate  between  disease  (perversion)  and  vice  (per- 
versity), one  must  investigate  the  w^hole  personality  of 
the  individual  and  the  original  motive  leading  to  the  per- 
verse act.  Therein  will  be  found  the  key  to  the  diagnosis 
{v.  infra). 

Parsesthesia  may  occur  in  combination  with  hyperaes- 
thesia.  This  association  seems  to  be  frequent  clinically. 
Sexual  acts  are  then  confidently  to  be  expected.  The 
perverse  direction  of  sexual  activity  may  be  toward  sexual 
■satisfaction  with  the  opposite  or  the  same  sex.  Thus  two 
great  groups  of  perversions  of  sexual  life  may  be  dis- 
tinguished. 

I.  Sexual  Inclination  Toward  Persons  of  the  Opposite  Sex, 
with  Perverse  Activity  of  the  Instinct. 

1.  Association  of  Active  Cruelty  and    Violence  with  Lust — 

Sadism} 

That  lust  and  cruelty  often  occur  together  is  a  fact 
that  has  long  been  recognised  and  is  frequently  observed. 
Writers  of  all  kinds  have  called  attention  to  this  phe- 
nomenon.'-^ The  not  infrequent  cases  where  individuals 
of  very  exc  table  sexual  natures  bite  or  scratch  the  com- 
panion in  intercourse  fall  withm  physiological  limits.^ 
The  older  authors  have  called  attention  to  the  relation 
between  lust  and  cruelty. 

Blumrdder  ("  Ueber  Irresein,"  Leipzig,  1836,  p.  51)  saw 

1  So  named  from  the  notorious  Marquis  de  Sade,  whose  obscene  novels 
treat  of, lust  and  cruelty.  In  French  literature  the  expression  "  Sadism" 
has  been  applied  to  this  perversion.  Eiilcnburg  ("  Klin.  Handb.  der  Harn- 
und  Sexual-organe  " )  uses  the  term  "active  algolagnia"  in  connection 
with  these  phenomena. 

^U.A.Novalis,  in  his  "  Fragments " ;  Gorres,  "Christliche  Mystik,*' 
Bd.  ill.,  p.  460. 

*C/.  also  Alfred  de  Musset's  famous  verses  to  the  Andalusian  girl: — 
"  Qu'elle  est  superbe  en  son  desordre — quand  elle  tombe  les  seins  nus — 
Qu'on  la  volt,  beante,  se  tordre — dans  un  baiser  de  rage  et  mordre — 
En  hurlant  des  mots  inconnus  !  " 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION    TOWAED   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       77 

a  man  who  had  several  wounds  in  the  pectoral  muscle, 
which  a  woman,  in  great  sexual  excitement,  had  bitten 
at  the  acme  of  lustful  feeling  during  coitus.  The  same 
author  ("  Ueber  Lust  und  Schmerz,"  Friedreich's  "  Magazin 
fiir  Seelenkunde,  1830,  ii.,  5)  calls  especial  attention  to  the 
psychological  connection  between  lust  and  murder.  In 
relation  to  this,  he  especially  refers  to  the  Indian  myths 
of  Siva  and  Durga  (Death  and  Lust) ;  to  human  sacrifice 
with  voluptuous  mysteries ;  and  to  sexual  instinct  at 
puberty  with  a  lustful  impulse  to  suicide,  with  whipping, 
pinching,  and  pricking  of  the  genitals,  in  the  bhnd  im- 
pulse to  satisfy  sexual  desire.  Lombroso  ("  Verzeni  e  Agno- 
letti,"  Eome,  1874)  also  cites  numerous  examples  of  the 
occurrence  of  a  desire  to  murder  with  greatly  increased 
lust. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  homicidal  mania  has  been 
excited,  lust  often  follows.  Lombroso  (op.  cit.)  alludes  to 
the  fact  mentioned  by  Mantegazza,  that  to  the  terrors  of 
spohation  and  plunder  by  bandits  generally  are  added 
those  of  brutal  lust  and  rape.^  These  examples  form 
transitions  to  the  pronounced  pathological  cases. 

The  examples  of  the  degenerate  Caesars  (Nero,  Tiberius) 
are  also  instructive.  They  took  delight  in  having  youths 
and  maidens  slaughtered  before  their  eyes.  Not  less  so 
is  the  history  of  that  monster,  Marschalls  Gilles  de  Eays 
{Jacob,  "  Curiosites  de  I'histoire  de  France,"  Paris,  1858), 
who  was  executed  in  1440,  on  account  of  mutilation  and 
murder,  which  he  had  practised  for  eight  years  on  more 
than  800  children.  As  the  monster  confessed  it,  it  was 
from  reading  Suetonius  and  the  descriptions  of  the  orgies 
of  Tiberius,  Caracalla,  etc.,  that  the  idea  was  gained  of 

1  During  the  excitement  of  battle  the  idea  of  lust  forces  its  way  into 
consciousness.  Cf.  the  description  of  a  battle,  by  a  soldier,  by  Grill- 
•parzer : — 

"  And  as  the  signal  rang  out,  the  armies  met,  breast  to  breast — lust 
of  the  gods! — here,  there,  the  murderous  steel  slays  enemy,  friend. 
Given  and  taken — death  and  life — with  wavering  change — wildly  raging 
in  frenzy"  ("  Dream  a  Life,"  Act  i.). 


7b  PSYCIIOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

locking  children  in  his  castles,  torturing  thero,  and  then 
killing  them.  This  inhuman  wretch  confessed  that  in  the 
commission  of  these  acts  he  enjoyed  inexpressible  pleasure. 
He  had  two  assistants.  The  bodies  of  the  unfortunate 
children  were  burned,  and  only  a  number  of  heads  of 
particularly  beautiful  children  were  preserved — as  me- 
morials. 

Gf.  Exdenhurg,  op.  cit.  p.  58,  where  he  gives  satisfactory 
proof  of  Rays'  insanity. 

In  an  attempt  to  explain  the  association  of  lust  and 
cruelty,  it  is  necessary  to  return  to  a  consideration  of  the 
quasi-physiological  cases,  in  which,  at  the  moment  of  most 
intense  lust,  very  excitable  individuals,  who  are  otherwise 
normal,  commit  such  acts  as  biting  and  scratching,  which 
are  usually  due  to  anger.  It  must  further  be  remembered 
that  love  and  anger  are  not  only  the  most  intense  emotions, 
but  also  the  only  two  forms  of  robust  (sthenic)  emotion. 
Both  seek  their  object,  try  to  possess  themselves  of  it,  and 
naturally  exhaust  themselves  in  a  physical  effect  on  it ; 
both  throw  the  psycho-motor  sphere  into  the  most  intense 
excitement,  and  thus,  by  means  of  this  excitation,  reach 
their  normal  expression. 

From  this  standpoint  it  is  clear  how  lust  impels  to 
acts  that  otherwise  are  expressive  of  anger.^  The  one, 
like  the  other,  is  a  state  of  exaltation,  an  intense  excita- 
tion of  the  entire  psycho-motor  sphere.  Thus  there 
irises  an  impulse  to  react  on  the  object  that  induces  the 
stimulus,  in  every  possible  way,  and  with  the  greatest 
intensity.  Just  as  maniacal  exaltation  easily  passes  to 
raging  destructiveness,  so  exaltation  of  the  sexual  emo- 
tion often  induces  an  impulse  to  spend  itself  in  senseless 
and  apparently  harmful  acts.  To  a  certain  extent  these 
are  psychical  accompaniments ;  but  it  is  not  simply  an 
unconscious  excitation  of  innervation  of  muscles  (which 

1  Schulz  ("  Wiener  Med.  Wocheuschrift,"  No.  49,  1869)  reports  a  re- 
markable case  of  a  man,  aged  twenty-eight,  who  could  perform  coitus 
with  his  wife  only  after  working  himself  into  an  artificial  fit  of  anger. 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWARD   THE   OPPOSITE    SEX.      79 

also  sometimes  occurs  as  blind  violence)  ;  it  is  a  true 
hyperbole,  a  desire  to  exert  the  utmost  possible  effect 
upon  the  individual  giving  rise  to  the  stimulus.  The 
most  intense  means,  however,  is  the  infliction  of  pain. 

Through  such  cases  of  infliction  of  pain  during  the 
most  intense  emotion  of  lust,  we  approach  the  cases  in 
which  a  real  injury,  wound,  or  death  is  inflicted  on  the 
victim.^  In  these  cases  the  impulse  to  cruelty  which  may 
accompany  the  emotion  of  lust,  becomes  unbounded  in  a 
psychopathic  individual ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  owing  to 
defect  of  moral  feeling,  all  normal  inhibitory  ideas  are 
absent  or  weakened. 

Such  monstrous,  sadistic  acts  have,  however,  in  men, 
in  whom  they  are  much  more  frequent  than  in  women, 
another  source  in  physiological  conditions.  In  the  inter- 
course of  the  sexes,  the  active  or  aggressive  role  belongs 
to  man  ;  woman  remains  passive,  defensive.^  It  affords 
man  great  pleasure  to  win  a  woman,  to  conquer  her ;  and 
m  the  ars  amandi,  the  modesty  of  woman,  who  keeps  her- 
self on  the  defensive  until  the  moment  of  surrender,  is  an 
element  of  great  psychological  significance  and  importance. 
Under  normal  conditions  man  meets  obstacles  which  it 
is  his  \)Qxi  to  overcome,  and  for  which  nature  has  given 
him  an  aggressive  character.  This  aggressive  character, 
however,  under  pathological  conditions  may  hkewise  be 
excessively  developed,  and  express  itself  in  an  impulse  to 
subdue  absolutely  the  object  of  desire,  even  to  destroy  or 
kill  it.^ 

'Concerning  analogous  acts  in  rutting  animals,  vide  Lombroso,  "The 
Criminal ". 

-Among  animals  it  is  always  the  male  who  pursues  the  female  with 
proffers  of  love.  Playful  or  actual  flight  of  the  female  is  not  infrequently 
observed ;  and  then  the  relation  is  like  that  between  the  beast  of  prey 
and  the  victim. 

=*The  conquest  of  woman  takes  place  to-day  in  the  social  form  of 
courting,  in  seduction  and  deception,  etc.  From  the  history  of  civilisation 
and  antliropology  we  know  that  there  have  been  times,  as  there  are 
aavages  to-day  that  practise  it,    whore    brutal    force,  robbery,  or   oven 


80  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

If  both  these  constituent  elements  occur  together — 
the  abnormally  intensified  impulse  to  a  violent  reaction 
toward  the  object  of  the  stimulus,  and  the  abnormally 
intensified  desire  to  conquer  the  woman, — then  the  most 
violent  outbreaks  of  sadism  occur. 

Sadism  is  thus  nothing  else  than  an  excessive  and 
monstrous  pathological  intensification  of  phenomena, — 
possible,  too,  in  normal  conditions  in  rudimental  forms, — 
which  accompany 'the  psychical  vita  sexualis,  particularly 
in  males.  It  is  of  course  not  at  all  necessary,  and  not 
even  the  rule,  that  the  sadistic  individual  should  be  con- 
scious of  his  instinct.  "What  he  feels  is,  as  a  rule,  only 
the  impulse  to  cruel  and  violent  treatment  of  the  opposite 
sex,  and  the  colouring  of  the  idea  of  such  acts  with  lustful 
feelings.  Thus  arises  a  powerful  impulse  to  commit  the 
imagined  deeds.  In  as  far  as  the  actual  motives  of  this 
instinct  are  not  comprehended  by  the  individual,  the 
sadistic  acts  have  the  character  of  impulsive  deeds. 

When  the  association  of  lust  and  cruelty  is  present, 
not  only  does  the  lustful  emotion  awaken  the  impulse  to 
cruelty,  but  vice  versa;    cruel  ideas  and  acts  of  cruelty 

blows  that  rendered  a  woman  powerless,  were  made  use  of  to  obtain  love's 
desire.  It  is  possible  that  tendencies  to  such  outbreaks  of  sadism  are 
atavistic. 

In  the  "  Jahrbiicher  fiir  Psychologie,"  ii.,  p.  128,  Schcifer  (Jena) 
refers  to  the  reports  of  two  cases  by  A.  Payer.  In  the  first  case  states  of 
great  sexual  exoifceaient  were  induced  by  the  sight  of  battles  or  of  paint- 
ing's of  them ;  in  the  second,  by  cruel  torturing  of  small  animals.  It 
is  added  :  "  The  pleasure  of  battle  and  murder  is  so  predominantly  an 
attribute  of  the  male  sex  throughout  the  animal  kingdom  that  there 
can  be  no  question  about  the  close  relation  existing  between  this  side  of 
the  masculine  character  and  male  sexuality.  I  believe,  too,  that  by  un- 
prejudiced observation  I  can  show  that,  in  men  who  are  mentally  and 
physically  absolutely  normal,  the  first  indefinite  and  incomprehensible 
precursors  of  sexual  excitement  may  be  induced  by  the  reading  of  exciting 
scenes  of  the  chase  and  war — i.e.,  they  give  rise  to  unconscious  longings 
for  a  kind  of  satisfaction  in  warlike  games  (wrestling),  in  which  the 
fundamental  sexual  impulse  to  the  most  perfect  and  intense  contact  with 
a  companion  is  expressed,  with  the  secondary  thought  of  conquest  more 
or  less  clearly  defined." 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWARD   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       81 

cause  sexual  excitement,  and  in  this    way  are  used  by 
perverse  individuals.^ 

A  differentiation  of  original  and  acquired  cases  of 
sadism  is  scarcely  possible.  Many  individuals,  tainted 
ah  origine,  for  a  long  time  do  everything  to  conquer  the 
perverse  instinct.  If  they  are  potent,'  they  are  able  for 
some  time  to  lead  a  normal  vita  sexualis,  often  with  the 
assistance  of  fanciful  ideas  of  a  perverse  nature.  Later, 
when  the  opposing  motives  of  an  ethical  and  aesthetic 
kind  have  been  gradually  overcome,  and  when  oft-re- 
peated experience  has  proved  the  natural  act  to  give  but 
incomplete  satisfaction,  the  abnormal  instinct  suddenly 
bursts  forth.  Owing  to  this  late  expression,  in  acts,  of 
an  originally  perverse  disposition,  the  appearances  are 
those  of  an  acquired  perversion.  As  a  rule,  it  may  be 
safely  assumed  that  this  psychopathic  state  exists  ab 
origine. 

Sadistic  acts  vary  in  monstrousness  according  to  the 
power  exercised  by  the  perverse  instinct  over  the  indi- 
vidual thus  afflicted,  and  in  accordance  with  the  strength 
of  opposing  ideas  that  may  be  present,  which  nearly 
always  are  more  or  less  weakened  by  original  ethical 
defects,  hereditary  degeneracy,  or  moral  insanity.  Thus 
there  arises  a  long  series  of  forms  which  begins  with 
capital  crime  and  ends  with  paltry  acts  affording  merely 
symbolic  satisfaction  to  the  perverse  desires  of  the  sadistic 
individual. 

Sadistic  acts  may  be  further  differentiated  according 
to  their  nature :  either  taking  place  after  consummated 
coitus  which  leaves  the  libido  nimia  unsatisfied ;  or,  with 
diminished  virihty,  being  undertaken  to  merely  stimulate 
the  diminished  power ;  or,  finally,  where  virility  is  abso- 
lutely wanting,  as  becoming  simply  an  equivalent  for 
impossible  coitus,  and  for  the  induction  of  ejaculation. 

^It  sometimes  happens  that  an  accidental  sight  of  blood,  etc.,  puts 
into  motion  the  preformed  psychical  mechanism  of  the  sadistic  individual 
and  awakens  the  instinct. 

6 


82  PSYCIIOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

In  the  last  two  cases,  notwithstanding  impotence,  there 
is  still  nitense  libido ;  or  there  was,  at  least,  intense 
libido  in  the  individual  at  the  time  when  the  sadistic 
acts  became  a  habit.  Sexual  hyperaesthesia  must  always 
be  regarded  as  the  basis  of  sadistic  inclinations.  The 
impotence  which  occurs  so  frequently  in  psychopathic 
and  neuropathic  individuals  here  considered,  resulting 
from  excesses  practised  in  early  youth,  is  usually  de- 
pendent upon  spinal  weakness.  Often,  too,  there  is  a 
kind  of  psychical  impotence,  superinduced  by  concentra- 
tion of  thought  on  the  perverse  act  with  simultaneous 
fading  of  the  idea  of  normal  satisfaction.  No  matter 
what  the  external  form  of  the  act  may  be,  the  mentally 
perverse  predisposition  and  instinct  of  the  individual  are 
essential  to  an  understanding  of  it. 

(a)  Lust-Murder^  {Lust  Potentiated  as  Cruelty,  M^irdcrous 
Lust  Extending  to  Anthropophagy). 

The  most  horrible  example,  and  one  which  most 
pijintedly  shows  the  connection  between  lust  and  a  de- 
sire to  kill,  is  the  case  of  Andreas  Bichel,  which  Fcuerbach 
published  in  his  "  Aktenmassige  Darstellung  merkwiir- 
diger  Verbrechen  ". 

B.  puellas  stupratas  necavit  et  dissecuit  With  refer- 
ence to  one  of  his  victims,  at  his  examination  he 
expressed  himself  as  follows:  "I  opened  her  breast  and 
with  a  knife  cut  through  the  fleshy  parts  of  the  body. 
Then  I  arranged  the  body  as  a  butcher  does  beef,  and 
hacked  it  with  an  axe  into  pieces  of  a  size  to  fit  the  hole 
which  I  had  dug  up  in  the  mountain  for  burying  it.  I 
may  say  that  while  opening  the  body  I  was  so  greedy  that 
I  trembled,  and  could  have  cut  out  a  piece  and  eaten  it." 

Lombroso,  too  ("  Geschlechtstrieb  und  Verbrechen  in 
ihren  gegenseitigen  Beziehungen  ".    "  Goltdammer's  Archiv," 

^  Gf.   "  Melzger's  ger.  Arzueiw.,  herausgegeben  von  Rcmcr,"  p.  539; 

"  Klein's  Annalen,"x.,  p.  17G  ;  xviii.,  p.  311 ;  Hcinroth,  "  System  der  psych. 

Med.,"  p.  270  ;    Neucr  Pitaval,  1855,  23  Th.  ("  Fall  Blaize  Ferrage  ") 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWARD   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.      83 

Bd.  XXX.),  mentions  cases  falling  in  the  same  category. 
A  certain  Phillipe  indulged  in  strangling  prostitutes,  post 
actum,  and  said:  "I  am  fond  of  women,  but  it  is  sport 
for  me  to  strangle  them  after  having  enjoyed  them". 

A  certain  Grassi  {Lombroso,  op.  cit.,  p.  12)  was  one 
night  seized  with  sexual  desire  for  a  relative.  Irritated 
by  her  remonstrance,  he  stabbed  her  several  times  in  the 
abdomen  with  a  knife,  and  also  murdered  her  father  and 
uncle  who  attempted  to  hold  him  back.  Immediately 
thereafter  he  hastened  to  visit  a  prostitute  in  order  to 
cool  in  her  embrace  his  sexual  passion.  But  this  was 
not  sufficient,  for  he  then  murdered  his  own  father  and 
slaughtered  several  oxen  in  the  stable. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  after  the  foregoing,  that  a  great 
number  of  so-called  lust  murders  depend  upon  combined 
hyperaesthesia  and  paroesthesia  sexuahs.  As  a  result  of 
this  perverse  colouring  of  the  feelings,  further  acts  of 
bestiahty  with  the  corpse  may  result — e.g.,  cutting  it  up 
and  wallowing  in  the  intestines.  The  case  of  Bichel 
points  to  this  possibility. 

A  modern  example  is  that  of  Menesclou  ("  Annales 
d'hygiene  publique"),  who  was  examined  by  Lasegue, 
Brouardel  and  Motet,  declared  to  be  mentally  sound,  and 
executed. 

Case  16.  A  four-year-old  girl  was  missing  from  her 
parents'  home,  15th  April,  1880.  On  16th  April,  Menes- 
clou,, one  of  the  occupants  of  the  house,  was  arrested. 
The  forearm  of  the  child  was  found  in  his  pocket,  and  the 
head  and  entrails,  in  a  half-charred  condition,  were  taken 
from  the  stove.  Other  parts  of  the  body  were  found  in 
the  water-closet.  The  genitals  could  not  be  found.  M., 
when  asked  their  whereabouts,  became  embarrassed.  The 
circumstances,  as  well  as  an  obscene  poem  found  on  his 
person,  left  no  doubt  that  he  had  violated  the  child 
and  then  murdered  her.  M.  expressed  no  remorse,  as- 
serting that  his  deed  was  an  unhappy   accident.      His 


84  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

intelligence  is  limited.     He  presents  no  anatomical  signs 
of  degeneration  ;  is  somewhat  deaf  and  scrofulous. 

M.,  aged  twenty ;  convulsions  at  the  age  of  nine 
months.  Later  he  suffered  from  disturbed  sleep  (enuresis 
nocturna)  ;  was  nervous,  and  developed  tardily  and  im- 
perfectly. With  puberty  he  became  irritable,  showed  evil 
inclinations,  was  lazy,  intractable,  and  in  all  trades  proved 
to  be  of  no  use.  He  grew  no  better  even  in  the  House  of 
Correction.  He  was  made  a  marine,  but  there,  too,  he 
proved  useless.  When  he  returned  home  he  stole  from 
his  parents,  and  spent  his  time  in  bad  company.  He  did 
not  run  after  women,  but  gave  himself  up  passionately  to 
masturbation,  and  occasionally  indulged  in  sodomy  with 
bitches.  His  mother  suffered  with  mania  menstrualis 
periodica.  An  uncle  was  insane,  and  another  a  drunkard. 
The  examination  of  M.'s  brain  showed  morbid  changes  of 
the  frontal  lobes,  of  the  first  and  second  temporal  con- 
volutions, and  of  a  part  of  the  occipital  convolutions. 

Case  1 7.  Alton,  a  clerk  in  England,  goes  out  of  town 
for  a  walk.  He  lures  a  child  into  a  thicket,  and  returns 
after  a  time  to  his  office,  where  he  makes  this  entry  in  his 
note-book  :  "  Killed  to-day  a  young  girl  ;  it  was  fine  and 
hot ".  The  child  was  missed,  searched  for,  and  found  cut 
into  pieces.  Many  parts,  and  among  them  the  genitals, 
could  not  be  found.  A.  did  not  show  the  slightest  trace 
of  emotion,  and  gave  no  explanation  of  the  motive  or 
circumstances  of  his  horrible  deed.  He  was  a  psycho- 
pathic individual,  and  occasionally  subject  to  fits  of  de- 
pression with  tcedinm  vitce.  His  father  had  had  an  attack 
of  acute  mania.  A  near  relative  suffered  from  mania  with 
homicidal  impulses.     A.  was  executed. 

In  such  cases  it  may  even  happen  that  appetite  for  the 
flesh  of  the  murdered  victhn  arises,  and  in  consequence  of 
this  perverse  colouring  of  the  idea,  parts  of  the  body  may 
be  eaten. 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       85 

Case  18.  Leger,  vine-dresser,  aged  twenty-four.  From 
youth  moody,  silent,  shy  of  people.  He  starts  out  in  search 
of  a  situation.  He  wanders  about  eight  days  in  the  forest, 
there  catches  a  girl  twelve  years  old,  violates  her,  mutilates 
her  genitals,  tears  out  her  heart,  eats  of  it,  drinks  the 
blood,  and  buries  the  remains.  Arrested,  at  first  he  lied, 
but  finally  confessed  his  crime  with  cynical  cold-blooded- 
ness. He  listened  to  his  sentence  of  death  with  indiffer- 
ence^  and  was  executed.  At  the  post-mortem  examination 
Esquirol  found  morbid  adhesions  between  the  cerebral 
membranes  and  the  brain  {Georget,  "  Darstellung  der  Pro- 
zesse  Leger,  Feldtmarm,"  etc.,  Darmstadt,  1827). 

Case  19.  Tirsch,  hospital  beneficiary  of  Prag,  aged 
fifty-five,  always  silent,  peculiar,  coarse,  very  irritable, 
grumbling,  revengeful,  was  sentenced  to  twenty  years' 
imprisonment  for  violating  a  girl  ten  years  old.  He  had 
attracted  attention  on  account  of  outbursts  of  anger  from 
insiefiiificant  causes,  and  also  on  account  of  tsedium  vitse. 
In  1864,  on  account  of  the  refusal  of  an  offer  of  marriage 
which  he  made  to  a  widow,  he  developed  a  hatred  toward 
women,  and  on  8th  July  he  went  about  with  the  intention 
of  killing  one  of  this  hated  sex.  Vetulam  occurrentcm  in 
silvam  allexit,  coitum  poposcit,  renitentem  prostravit,  jugulum 
femincB  conipressit  "furore  capitis  ".  Cadaver  virga  hetula 
desecta  verberare  voluit  neqiietamen  id  perfecit,  quia  conscientia 
sua  haec  fieri  vetuit,  cuUello  mammas  et  genitalia  desecta  domi 
cocta  proximis  diehus  cum  globis  comedit.  On  12th  Sep- 
tember, when  he  was  arrested,  the  remains  of  this  meal 
were  found.  He  gave  as  the  motive  of  this  act  "inner 
impulse".  He  himself  wished  to  be  executed,  because 
he  had  always  been  an  outcast.  In  confinement  there 
were  great  emotional  irritability  and  occasional  outbursts 
of  fury,  preceded  by  refusal  of  food,  which  made  isolation, 
lasting  several  days,  necessary.  It  was  authoritatively 
estabhshed  that  the  most  of  his  earlier  excesses  were  co- 
incident with  outbreaks  of  excitement  and  fury  (Maschka, 


86  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

"Prager  Vierteljahrsschrift,"  1866,  i.,  p.  79.     "  Gauster  bei 
Maschka,  Handb.  der  gerichtl.  Medicin,"  iv.,  p,  489). 

The  Whitechapel  murderer,  who  has  successfully 
eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  police,  probably  belongs  in 
this  category  of  psycho-sexual  monsters.^  The  constant 
absence  of  uterus,  ovaries,  and  labia  in  the  victims  (ten) 
of  this  modern  Bluebeard  allows  the  presumption  that  he 
sought  and  found  still  further  satisfaction  in  anthro- 
pophagy. 

In  other  cases  of  lust-murder,  for  physical  and  mental 
reas  )ns  (vide  supra),  violation  is  omitted,  and  the  sadistic 
crime  alone  becomes  the  equivalent  of  coitus.  The  pro- 
totype of  such  cases  is  the  following  one  of  Verzeni.  The 
life  of  his  victim  hung  on  the  rapid  or  retarded  occurrence 
of  ejaculation.  Since  this  remarkable  case  presents  all 
the  peculiarities  which  modern  science  knows  concerning 
the  relation  of  lust  to  lust-murder  with  anthropophagy, 
and  especially  since  it  was  carefully  studied,  it  receives 
detailed  description  here  : — 

Case  20.  Vincenz  Verzeni,  born  in  1849  ;  since  11th 
January,  1872,  in  prison ;  is  accused  (1)  of  an  attempt  to 
strangle  his  nurse  Marianne,  foar  years  ago,  while  she  lay 
sick  in  bed  ;  (2/  of  a  similar  attempt  on  a  married  woman, 
Arsufti,  aged  twenty- seven  ;  (3)  of  an  attempt  to  strangle 
a  married  woman,  Gala,  by  gra  ping  her  throat  while 
kneeling  on  her  abdomen  ;  (4)  on  suspicion  of  the  following 
murders : — 

In  December  a  fourteen-year-old  girl,  Johanna  Motta, 
set  out  for  a  neighbouring  village  between  seven  and  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  she  did  not  return,  her  master 
set  out  to  find  her,  and  discovered  her  body  near  the  village, 
lying  by  a  path  in  the  fields.     The  corpse  was  frightfully 

^  Cf.  Spitzka,  "  The  Journal  of  Nervous  and  Mental  Disease,"  Decem- 
ber,  1888;   Kicrnan,   "The   Medical   Standard,"   November,   December, 

1888. 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       87 

mutilate'.]  with  nuinerons  wounds.  The  intestines  and 
genitals  had  been  torn  from  the  open  body,  and  were  found 
near  by.  The  nakedness  of  the  body  and  erosions  on  the 
thighs  made  it  seem  probable  that  there  had  been  an 
attempt  at  rape;  the  mouth,  filled  with  earth,  pointed  to 
suffocation.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  body,  under  a 
pile  of  straw,  were  found  a  portion  of  flesh  torn  from  the 
right  calf,  and  pieces  of  clothing.  The  perpetrator  of 
the  deed  remained  undiscovered. 

On  28th  August,  1871,  a  married  woman,  Frigeni,  aged 
twenty-eight,  set  out  into  the  fields  early  in  the  morning. 
As  she  did  not  return  by  eight  o'clock,  her  husband  started 
out  to  fetch  her.  He  found  her  a  corpse,  lying  naked  in 
the  field,  with  the  mark  of  a  thong  around  her  neck,  with 
which  she  had  been  sti'angled,  and  with  numerous  wounds. 
The  abdomen  had  been  slit  open,  and  the  intestines  were 
hanging  out. 

On  29th  August,  at  noon,  as  Maria  Previtali,  aged  nine- 
teen, went  through  a  field,  she  was  followed  by  her  cousin, 
Verzeni.  He  dragged  her  into  a  field  of  grain,  threw  her 
to  the  ground,  and  began  to  choke  her.  As  he  let  go  of 
her  for  a  moment  to  ascertain  whether  any  one  was  near, 
the  girl  got  up  and,  by  her  supplicating  entreaty,  induced 
Verzeni  to  let  her  go,  after  he  had  pressed  her  hands 
together  for  some  time. 

Verzeni  was  brought  before  a  court.  He  is  twenty- 
two  years  old.  His  cranium  is  of  more  than  average  size, 
but  asymmetrical.  The  right  frontal  bone  is  narrower  and 
lower  than  the  left,  the  right  frontal  prominence  being  less 
developed,  and  the  right  ear  smaller  than  the  left  (by  1 
centimetre  in  length  and  3  centimetres  in  breadth) ;  both 
ears  are  defective  in  the  inferior  half  of  the  helix ;  the 
right  temporal  artery  is  somewhat  atheromatous.  Bull- 
necked  ;  enormous  development  of  the  zygoma  and  inferior 
maxilla;  penis  greatly  developed, /r«7mm  wanting;  slight 
divergent  alternating  strabismus  (insufficiency  of  the  in- 
ternal rectus  muscle,  and  m^-opia).     Lombroso  concludes, 


88  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

from  these  signs  of  degeneration,  that  there  is  a  congenital 
arrest  of  development  of  the  right  frontal  lobe.  As  seemed 
probable,  Verzeni  has  a  bad  ancestry — two  micles  are 
cretins ;  a  third,  microcephalic,  beardless,  one  testicle 
wanting,  the  other  atrophic.  The  father  shows  traces 
of  pellagrous  degeneration,  and  had  an  attack  of  hypo- 
chondria pellagrosa.  A  cousin  suffered  from  cerebral 
hyperaemia  ;  another  is  a  confirmed  thief. 

Verzeni's  family  is  bigoted  and  low-minded.  He  him- 
self has  ordinary  intelligence;  knows  how  to  defend  himself 
well ;  seeks  to  prove  an  alibi  and  cast  suspicion  on  others. 
There  is  nothing  in  his  past  that  points  to  mental  disease, 
but  his  character  is  peculiar.  He  is  silent  and  inclined  to 
be  solitary.  In  prison  he  is  cynical.  He  masturbates,  and 
makes  every  effort  to  gain  sight  of  women. 

Verzeni  finally  confessed  his  deeds  and  their  motive. 
The  commission  of  them  gave  him  an  indescribably 
pleasant  (lustful)  feeling,  which  was  accompanied  by  erec- 
tion and  ejaculation.  As  soon  as  he  has  grasped  his  victim 
by  the  neck,  sexual  sensations  were  experienced.  It  was 
entirely  the  same  to  him,  with  reference  to  these  sensa- 
tions, whether  the  women  were  old,  young,  ugly,  or 
beautiful.  Usually,  simply  choking  them  had  satisfied 
him,  and  he  then  had  allowed  his  victims  to  live ;  in  the 
two  cases  mentioned,  the  sexual  satisfaction  was  delayed, 
and  he  had  continued  to  choke  them  until  they  died.  The 
gratification  experienced  in  this  garrotting  was  greater  than 
in  masturbation.  The  abrasions  of  the  skin  on  Motta's 
thighs  were  produced  by  his  teeth,  whilst  sucking  her 
blood  in  most  intense  lustful  pleasure.  He  had  torn  out 
a  piece  of  flesh  from  her  calf  and  taken  it  with  him  to 
roast  at  home ;  but  on  the  way  he  hid  it  under  the  straw- 
stack,  for  fear  his  mother  would  suspect  him.  He  also 
carried  pieces  of  the  clothing  and  intestines  some  distance, 
because  it  gave  him  great  pleasure  to  smell  and  touch 
them.  The  strength  which  he  possessed  in  these  moments 
of  intense  lustful  pleasure  was  enormous.     He  had  never 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       89 

been  a  fool ;  while  committing  his  deeds  he  saw  nothing 
around  him  (apparently  as  a  result  of  intense  sexual  ex- 
citement, annihilation  of  perception — instinctive  action). 
After  such  acts  he  was  always  very  happy,  enjoying  a 
feeling  of  great  satisfaction.  He  had  never  had  pangs  of 
conscience.  It  had  never  occurred  to  him  to  touch  the 
genitals  of  the  martyred  women,  or  to  violate  his  victims. 
It  had  satisfied  him  to  throttle  them  and  suck  their  blood. 
These  statements  of  this  modern  vampire  seem  to  rest  on 
truth.  Normal  sexual  impulses  seem  to  have  remained 
foreign  to  him.  Two  sweethearts  that  he  had,  he  was 
satisfied  to  look  at ;  it  was  very  strange  to  him  that  he 
had  no  inclination  to  strangle  them  or  press  their  hands 
but  he  had  not  had  the  same  pleasure  with  them  as  with 
his  victims.  There  was  no  trace  of  moral  sense,  remorse 
and  the  like. 

Verzeni  said  himself  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if 
he  were  to  be  kept  in  prison,  because  with  freedom  he 
could  not  resist  his  impulses.  Verzeni  was  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  life  {Lombroso,  "Verzeni  e  Agnoletti," 
Eome,  1873).  The  confessions  which  Verzeni  made  after 
his  sentence  are  interesting  : — 

"  I  had  an  unspeakable  delight  in  strangling  women,  ex- 
periencing during  the  act  erections  and  real  sexual  pleasure. 
It  was  even  a  pleasure  only  to  smell  female  clothing.  The 
feeling  of  pleasure  while  strangling  them  was  much  greater 
than  that  which  I  experienced  while  masturbating.  I  took 
great  delight  in  drinking  Motta's  blood.  It  also  gave  me 
the  greatest  pleasure  to  pull  the  hair-pins  out  of  the  hair 
of  my  victims. 

"  I  took  the  clothing  and  intestines,  because  of  the 
pleasure  it  gave  me  to  smell  and  touch  them.  At  last  my 
mother  came  to  suspect  me,  because  she  noticed  spots  of 
semen  on  my  shirt  after  each  murder  or  attempt  at  one. 
I  am  not  crazy,  but  in  the  inoment  of  strangling  my  victims 
I  saw  nothing  else.  After  the  commission  of  the  deeds  I 
was  satisfied  and  felt  well.     It  never  occurred  to  me  to 


90  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

touch  or  look  at  the  genitals  or  such  things.  It  satisfied 
me  to  seize  the  women  by  the  neck  and  suck  their  blood. 
To  this  very  day  I  am  ignorant  of  how  a  woman  is  formed. 
During  the  strangling  and  after  it,  I  pressed  myself  on 
the  entire  body  without  thinking  of  one  part  more  than 
another." 

Verzeni  arrived  at  his  perverse  acts  quite  indepen- 
dently, after  having  noticed,  when  he  was  twelve  years 
old,  that  he  experienced  a  peculiar  feeling  of  pleasure 
while  wringing  the  necks  of  chickens.  After  this  he  had 
often  killed  great  numbers  of  them  and  then  said  that  a 
weasel  had  been  in  the  hen-coop  {Lombroso,  "  Goltdammer's 
Archiv,"  Bd.  xxx.,  p.  13). 

Lombroso  mentions  an  analogous  case  ("  Goltdammer's 
Archiv")  which  occurred  in  Vittoria  (Spain): — 

Case  21.  A  certain  Gruyo,  aged  forty-one,  with  a 
blameless  past  life,  having  been  three  times  married, 
strangled  six  women  in  the  course  of  ten  years.  They 
were  almost  all  public  prostitutes  and  quite  old.  After 
the  strangling  he  tore  out  their  intestines  and  kidneys  j^er 
vaginam.  Some  of  his  victims  he  violated  before  killing, 
others,  on  account  of  the  occurrence  of  impotence,  he  did 
not.  He  set  about  his  horrible  deeds  with  such  care  that 
he  remamed  undetected  for  ten  years. 

(b)  Mutilation  of  Corpses. 

Following  on  the  preceding  horrible  group  of  perver- 
sions, come  naturally  the  necrophiles  ;  in  these  cases,  just 
as  with  lustful  murderers  and  analogous  cases,  an  idea 
which  in  itself  awakens  a  feeling  of  horror,  and  before 
which  a  sane  person  would  shudder,  is  accompanied  by 
lustful  feelings,  and  thus  leads  to  the  impulse  to  indulge 
in  acts  of  necrophilia. 

The  cases  of  mutilation  of  bbdies  mentioned  in  litera- 
ture seem  to  be  of  a  pathological  character ;  but,  with  the 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWAED    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       91 

exception  of  the  celebrated  one  of  Sergeant  Bertrand  {v. 
infra),  they  are  far  from  being  described  and  observed  with 
exactness.  In  certain  cases  there  may  be  nothing  more 
than  the  possibihty  that  mibridled  desire  sees  in  the  idea 
of  death  no  obstacle  to  its  satisfaction.  The  seventh  case 
mentioned  by  Moreau  is  perhaps  such  a  one : — 

A  man,  aged  twenty-three,  attempted  to  rape  a  woman, 
aged  fifty-three.  Strugglmg,  he  killed  her,  and  then  vio- 
lated her,  threw  her  in  the  water,  and  fished  her  out  again 
for  renewed  violation.  The  murderer  was  executed.  The 
meninges  of  the  anterior  lobes  were  thickened  and  ad- 
herent to  the  cortex. 

French  writers  have  recorded  numerous  examples  of 
^lecrophilia.  Two  cases  concerned  monks  performing 
the  watch  for  the  dead.  In  a  tbird  case  the  subject  was 
an  idiot,  who  also  suffered  from  periodical  mania,  and 
after  commission  of  rape  was  sent  to  an  insane  asylum, 
and  there  mutilated  female  bodies  in  the  mortuary. 

In  other  cases,  however,  there  is  undoubtedly  direct 
preference  for  a  corpse  to  the  living  woman.  When  no 
other  act  of  cruelty — cutting  into  pieces,  etc. — is  practised 
on  the  cadaver,  it  is  probable  that  the  lifeless  condition 
itself  forms  the  stimulus  for  the  perverse  individual.  It 
is  possible  that  the  corpse — a  human  form  absolutely 
without  will — satisfies  an  abnormal  desire,  in  that  the 
object  of  desire  is  seen  to  be  capable  of  absolute  subjuga- 
tion, without  possibility  of  resistance. 

Bricrrc  dc  Boismont  ("Gazette  medicale,"  21st  July, 
1850)  relates  tbe  history  of  a  corpse-violator  who,  after 
bribing  the  watchman,  had  gained  entrance  to  the  corpse 
of  a  girl  of  sixteen  belonging  to  a  family  of  high  social 
position.  At  nigbt  a  noise  was  heard  in  the  death- 
chamber,  as  if  a  piece  of  furniture  had  fallen  over.  The 
mother  of  the  dead  girl  effected  an  entrance  and  saw  a 
man  dressed  in  his  night-shirt  springinjj;  from  the  bed 
where  tbe  body  lay.  It  was  nt  first  thought  that  the  man 
was  a  thief,  but  the  real  explanation  was  soon  discovered. 


92  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  culprit,  a  man 
of  good  family,  had  often  violated  the  corpses  of  young 
women.      He   was    sentenced    to   imprisonment  for  life. 

The  story  of  a  prelate,  reported  by  Taxil^  ("  La  prosti- 
tution contemporaine,"  p.  171),  is  of  great  interest  as  an 
example  of  necrophilia.  From  time  to  time  he  would 
visit  a  certain  brothel  in  Paris  and  order  a  prostitute, 
dressed  in  white  like  a  corpse,  to  be  laid  out  on  a  bier. 
At  the  appointed  hour  he  would  appear  in  the  room, 
which,  in  the  meantime  had  been  elaborately  prepared  as 
a  room  of  mourning  ;  then  he  would  act  as  if  reading  a 
mass  for  the  soul,  and  finally  throw  himself  upon  the 
girl,  who,  during  the  whole  time,  was  compelled  to  play 
the  role  of  a  corpse.^ 

The  cases  in  which  the  perpetrator  injures  and  cuts 
up  the  corpse  are  clearer.  Such  cases  come  next  to  those 
of  lust-murder,  in  so  far  as  cruelty,  or  at  least  an  impulse 
to  attack  the  female  body,  is  coimected  with  lust.  It  is 
possible  that  a  remnant  of  moral  sense  deters  from  the 
cruel  act  on  a  hving  woman,  and  possibly  the  fancy  passes 
beyond  lust-murder  and  rests  on  its  result,  the  corpse. 
Here  also  it  is  possible  that  the  idea  of  defencelessness  of 
the  body  plays  a  role. 

Case  22.  Sergeant  Bertrand,  a  man  of  delicate  phy- 
sical constitution  and  of  peculiar  character ;  from  child- 
hood silent  and  inclined  to  solitude. 

The  details  of  the  health  of  his  family  are  not  satis- 

^A  similar  case  is  related  by  Ncri  ("  Arcliivio  dalle  psicopatie  ses- 
suali,"  1896,  p.  109).  A  man,  fifty  years  of  age,  uses  in  a  Lupanar  only 
girls  who  clad  in  white,  lie  motionless,  feigning  death.  He  violated  tlie 
body  of  his  own  sister,  immissione  mentulcB  in  os  mortuce  usque  ad 
ejacnlationem!  This  monster  had  also  fits  of  fetichism  for  crines  pubis 
pudlariim,  and  the  trimmings  of  their  fingernails ;  eating  them  caused 
strong  sexual  emotions. 

2  Simon  ("  Crimes  et  delits,"  p.  209)  mentions  an  experience  of  La- 
cassagne's,  to  whom  a  respectable  man  said  that  he  was  never  intensely 
excited  sexually  except  when  a  spectator  at  a  funeral. 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWAED   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.      93 

factorily  known  ;  but  the  occurrence  of  mental  diseases  in 
his  ancestry  is  ascertained.  It  is  said  that  while  he  was 
a  child  he  was  affected  with  destructive  impulses,  which 
he  himself  could  not  explain.  He  would  break  whatever 
was  at  hand.  In  early  childhood,  without  teaching,  he 
learned  to  masturbate.  At  nine  he  began  to  feel  inclina- 
tions towards  persons  of  the  opposite  sex.  At  thirteen 
the  impulse  to  sexual  intercourse  became  powerfully 
aw^akened  in  him.  He  now  masturbated  excessively. 
When  he  did  this,  his  fancy  always  created  a  room  filled 
with  women.  He  would  imagine  that  he  carried  out  the 
sexual  act  with  them  and  then  killed  them.  Immediately 
thereafter  he  would  think  of  them  as  corpses,  and  of  how 
he  defiled  them.  Occasionally  in  such  situations  the 
thought  of  carrying  out  a  similar  act  with  male  corpses 
would  come  up,  but  it  was  always  attended  with  a  feeling 
of  disgust. 

In  time* he  felt  the  impulse  to  carry  out  such  acts  with 
actual  corpses.  For  want  of  human  bodies,  he  obtained 
those  of  animals.  He  would  cut  open  the  abdomen,  tear 
out  the  entrails,  and  masturbate  during  the  act.  He  de- 
clares that  in  this  way  he  experienced  inexpressible 
pleasure.  In  1846  these  bodies  no  longer  satisfied  him. 
He  now  killed  dogs,  and  proceeded  with  them  as  before. 
Toward  the  end  of  1846  he  first  felt  the  desire  to  make 
use  of  human  bodies. 

At  first  he  had  a  horror  of  it.  In  1847,  being  by 
accident  in  a  graveyard,  he  ran  across  the  grave  of  a 
newly  buried  corpse.  Then  this  impulse,  with  headache 
and  palpitation  of  the  heart,  became  so  powerful  that, 
although  there  were  people  near  by,  and  he  was  in 
danger  of  detection,  he  dug  up  the  body.  In  the  absence 
of  a  convenient  instrument  for  cutting  it  up,  he  satisfied 
himself  by  hacking  it  with  a  shovel. 

In  1847  and  1848,  during  two  weeks,  as  reported,  the 
impulse,  accompanied  by  violent  headache,  to  conmiit 
brutalities  on  corpses  actuated  him.     Amidst  the  greatest 


94  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

dangers  and  difficulties  he  satisfied  this  impulse  some 
fifteen  times.  He  dug  up  the  bodies  with  his  hands,  in 
nowise  sensible  in  his  excitement  to  the  mjuries  he  thus 
inflicted  on  himself.  When  he  had  obtained  the  body, 
he  cut  it  up  with  a  sword  or  pocket-knife,  tore  out  the 
entrails,  and  then  masturbated.  The  sex  of  the  bodies  is 
said  to  have  been  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him,  though 
it  was  ascertained  that  this  modern  vampire  had  dug  up 
more  female  than  male  corpses. 

During  these  acts  he  declares  himself  to  have  been 
in  an  indescribable  state  of  sexual  excitement.  After 
having  cut  them  up,  he  reinterred  the  bodies. 

In  July,  1848,  he  accidentally  came  across  the  body  of 
a  girl  of  sixteen.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  he  experienced 
a  desire  to  carry  out  coitus  on  a. cadaver. 

"I  covered  it  with  kisses  and  pressed  it  wildly  to  my 
heart.  All  that  one  could  enjoy  with  a  living  woman  is 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  pleasure  I  experienced. 
After  I  had  enjoyed  it  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
I  cut  the  body  up,  as  usual,  and  tore  out  the  entrails. 
Then  I  buried  the  cadaver  again."  Only  after  this,  as  B. 
declares,  had  he  felt  the  impulse  to  use  the  bodies  sexually 
before  cutting  them  up,  and  thereafter  he  had  done  it  in 
three  instances.  The  actual  motive  for  exlnnning  the 
bodies,  however,  was  then,  as  before,  to  cut  them  up ;  and 
the  enjoyment  in  so  doing  was  greater  than  in  using  the 
bodies  sexually.  The  latter  act  had  always  been  nothing 
more  than  an  episode  of  the  principal  one,  and  had  never 
quieted  his  desires ;  for  which  reason  he  had  later  on 
always  mutilated  the  body. 

The  medico-legal  examiners  gave  an  opinion  of  "  mono- 
mania ".  Court-martial  sentence  to  one  year's  imprison- 
ment. {Michea,  "Union  med.,"  1849;  Limicr,  "Annal. 
med.-psycho.,"  1849,  p.  153  ;  Tardieu,  "  Attentats  aux 
moeurs,"  1878,  p.  114;  Legraiid,  "La  folic  devant  les 
tribun.,"  p.  524.) 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       95 

(c)  Injury  to   Women  (Stabbing,   Flagellation,  etc.). 

Following  lust-murder  and  violation  of  corpses,  come 
cases  closely  allied  to  the  former,  in  which  injury  of  the 
victim  of  lust  and  sight  of  the  victim's  hiood  are  a  dehght 
and  pleasure  for  degenerate  men.  The  notorious  Marquis 
de  Sade/  after  whom  this  combination  of  lust  and  crueltv 
has  been  named,  was  such  a  monster.  Coitus  only  excited 
him  when  he  could  prick  the  object  of  his  desire  until  the 
blood  came.  His  greatest  pleasure  was  to  injure  naked 
prostitutes  and  then  dress  their  wounds. 

The  case  of  a  captain  belongs  here,  mentioned  by 
Brierre  de  Boismont,  who  always  compelled  the  object  of 
his  affection  to  place  leeches  ad  pitd'enda  before  coitus, 
which  was  very  frequent.  Finally  this  woman  became 
very  anaemic  and,  as  a  result  of  this,  insane. 

The  following  case,  from  my  own  practice,  very  clearly 
shows  the  connection  between  lust  and  cruelty,  with  desire 
to  shed  and  see  blood  : — 

Case  23.  Mr.  X.,  aged  twenty-five;  father  syphilitic, 
died  of  paretic  dementia ;  mother  hysterical  and  neur- 
asthenic.     He    is    a    weak    individual,    constitutionally 

1  Taxil  (op.  cit.)  gives  more  detailed  accounts  of  this  sexual  monster, 
which  must  have  been  a  case  of  habitual  satyriasis,  accompanied  by 
perverse  sexual  instinct.  Sade  was  so  cynical  that  he  actually  sought  to 
idealise  his  cruel  lasciviousness  and  to  be  the  apostle  of  a  theory  based 
upon  it.  He  got  so  bad  (among  other  things  he  made  an  invited  company 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  erotic  by  causing  to  be  served  to  them  chocolate 
bonbons  which  contained  cantharides)  that  he  was  committed  to  the 
insane  asylum  at  Charenton.  During  the  revolution  of  1790  he  escaped. 
Then  he  wrote  obscene  novels  filled  with  lust,  cruelty  and  the  most 
lascivious  scenes.  When  Bonaparte  became  Consul,  Sade  made  him 
a  present  of  his  novels,  magnificently  bound.  The  Consul  had  the  works 
destroyed  and  the  author  committed  to  Charenton  again,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four.  Sade  was  inexhaustible  in  his  lascivious  publi- 
cations, which  were  markedly  intended  for  advertisement.  Fortunately 
it  is  difficult  to-day  to  obtain  copies.  Extant  are  :  "  Histoire  de  Justine," 
4  vols. ;  "  Histoire  de  Juliette,"  6  vols.  ;  "  Philosophic  dans  le  boudoir," 
London,  1805.     Interesting  is  Sade's  biography  by  /.  Janin,  1835. 


dC)  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

neuropathic,    and   presents    several    anatomical   signs   of 
degeneration. 

When  a  child,  hypochondria  and  imperative  conceptions ; 
later,  constant  alternation  of  exaltation  and  depression 
While  yet  a  child  of  ten  the  patient  felt  a  peculiar  lustful 
desire  to  see  blood  flow  from  his  fingers.  Thereafter  he 
dften  cut  or  pricked  himself  in  the  fingers,  and  took  great 
delight  in  it.  Very  early,  erections  were  added  to  this, 
and  also  if  he  saw  the  blood  of  others;  for  example, 
when  he  once  saw  the  servant-girl  cut  her  finger  it  gave 
him  an  intense  lustful  feeling.  From  this  time  his  vita 
sexualis  became  more  and  more  powerful.  Without  any 
teaching  he  began  to  masturbate,  and  always  during  the 
act  there  were  memory-pictures  of  bleeding  women.  It 
now  no  longer  sufficed  him  to  see  his  own  blood  flow ;  he 
longed  to  see  the  blood  of  young  females,  especially  those 
that  were  attractive  to  him.  He  could  scarcely  overcome 
the  impulse  to  violate  two  cousins  and  a  certain  servant. 

Any  young  woman,  although  not  attractive,  induced 
this  impulse  when  she  excited  him  by  some  peculiarity 
of  dress  or  adornment,  especially  coral  jewellery.  At  first 
he  succeeded  in  overcoming  these  desires ;  but  in  his 
imagination  thoughts  of  blood  were  ever  present,  induc- 
ing lustful  excitement.  An  inner  relation  existed  between 
thoughts  and  feelings.  Often  there  were  other  cruel 
fancies.  He  imagined  himself  in  the  role  of  a  tyrant 
who  had  the  people  shot  in  crowds  with  grape-shot.  He 
would  imagine  a  scene  as  it  would  be,  if  enemies  were  to 
take  a  city  and  mutilate,  torture,  kill,  and  rape  the  young 
women. 

In  times  of  quiet  this  patient,  who  had  a  mild  dis- 
position and  was  not  morally  defective,  was  ashamed 
of  and  horrified  by  such  cruel,  lustful  fancies,  which  be- 
came at  once  latent,  when  his  sexual  excitement  was 
satisfied  by  masturbation. 

After  a  few  years  the  patient  became  neurasthenic. 
Then  simple  imaginary  representations  of  blood  and  scenes 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWARD   THE   OPPOSITE    SEX.      97 

of  blood  sufficed  to  induce  ejaculation.  In  order  to  free 
himself  from  his  vice  and  his  cruel  imagination,  he  began 
to  indulge  in  sexual  intercourse  with  females.  Coitus  was 
possible,  but  only  when  the  patient  called  up  the  idea 
that  the  girl's  fingers  were  bleeding.  Without  the  assist- 
ance of  this  idea  no  erection  was  possible.  The  cruel 
thought  of  cutting  was  limited  to  the  woman's  hand.  At 
times  of  greatest  sexual  excitement,  simply  the  sight  of 
the  hand  of  an  attractive  woman  was  sufficient  to  induce 
most  violent  erections.  Frightened  by  the  popular  stories 
about  the  injurious  results  of  onanism,  he  abstained  and 
fell  into  a  condition  of  severe  general  neurasthenia,  with 
hypochondriacal  dysthymia  and  tcedium  vitce.  Careful 
and  watchful  medical  treatment  cured  the  patient  after 
a  few  months.  He  has  remained  mentally  well  for  three 
years;  but  now,  as  before,  he  is  very  sensual,  though  very, 
seldom  he  is  troubled  by  his  earlier  ideas  of  flowing  blood. 
He  has  given  up  masturbation  altogether,  and  finds  satis- 
faction in  natural  sexual  indulgence,  is  virile,  and  it  is  no 
longer  necessary  for  him  to  call  up  ideas  of  blood. 

The  following  case,  reported  by  Tarnowsky  {op.  cit., 
p.  61),  shows  that  such  lustful,  cruel  impulses  may  be 
simply  episodical,  and  occur  in  certain  exceptional  states 
of  mind  in  neurotic  individuals  : — 

Case  24.  Z.,  physician  ;  neuropathic  constitution,  re- 
acting badly  to  alcohol.  Under  ordinary  circumstances 
capable  of  normal  coitus,  but  as  soon  as  he  has  indulged 
in  wine  he  finds  that  his  increased  libido  is  no  longer 
satisfied  by  simple  coitus.  In  this  condition  he  is  com- 
pelled to  prick  the  nates  puella,  or  to  make  stabs  with 
the  lancet,  to  see  blood,  and  feel  the  entrance  of  the  blade 
into  the  living  body,  in  order  to  have  ejaculation  and 
experience  complete  satiety  of  his  lust. 

The  majoritv  of  those  afflicted  with  this  form  of  per- 

7 


98  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

version  seem  insensible  to  the  normal  stimulus  of  woman. 
In  the  first  case  (23),  the  assistance  of  the  idea  of  blood 
was  necessary  to  obtain  erection.  The  following  is  that 
of  a  man  who,  by  masturbation,  etc.,  in  early  youth,  had 
diminished  his  power  of  erection  so  that  the  sadistic  act 
look  the  place  of  coitus  : — 

Case  25.  The  girl-stabber  of  Bozen  (reported  by  Demme, 
"  Buch  der  Verbrechen,"  Bd.  ii.,  p.  341).  In  18'29,  H.,  aged 
thirty,  soldier,  became  the  subject  of  legal  investigation. 
At  different  times,  and  in  different  places,  he  had  wounded 
girls  with  pocket-knives  or  penknives,  by  stabbing  them 
in  the  abdomen,  preferably  in  the  genitals.  He  gave  as  a 
motive  for  these  acts  heightened  sexual  impulse,  increasiiig 
to  the  intensity  of  fury,  which  found  satisfaction  only  in 
the  thought  and  act  of  stabbing  persons  of  the  female 
sex.  This  impulse  would  pursue  him  for  days  at  a  time. 
He  would  then  pass  into  a  confused  mental  state,  which 
would  clear  away  only  when  the  impulse  had  been  satis- 
fied by  the  deed.  In  the  act  of  stabbing  he  experienced 
the  same  satisfaction  as  that  produced  by  completed 
coitus.  This  was  increased  by  the  sight  of  blood  dripping 
from  the  knife.  In  his  tenth  year  the  sexual  instinct 
became  powerfully  manifest.  At  first  he  yielded  to  mas- 
turbation, and  felt  physically  and  mentally  weakened  by 
it.  Before  he  became  a  girl-stabber,  he  had  satisfied  his 
sexual  lust  in  violation  of  immature  girls,  by  causing  them 
to  practise  masturbation  on  him,  and  by  sodomy.  Gradu- 
ally the  thought  came  to  him  how  pleasurable  it  would  be 
to  stab  a  young  and  pretty  girl  in  the  genitals,  and  take 
dehght  in  the  sight  of  the  blood  running  from  the  knife. 

Among  his  effects  were  found  copies  of  the  objects  of 
phallic  cult  and  obscene  pictures  painted  by  himself  of 
Mary's  conception,  and  of  the  ''  thought  of  God  in- 
jected" into  the  lap  of  the  Virgin.  He  was  considered  a 
peculiar,  very  irritable  man,  shy  of  people,  fond  of  women, 
moody  and  glum.     Of  shanje  and  regret  for  his  deeds  no 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       99 

traces  were  ever  found.  He  was  apparently  a  person^  wlu) 
had  become  impotent  through  early  sexual  e.xcesses,  and 
was  thus  predisposed,  by  the  continuance  of  intense  libido 
sex^ialis  and  heredity,  to  perversion  of  sexual  life. 

Case  26.  In  the  "  sixties  "  the  inhabitants  of  Leipzig 
were  frightened  by  a  man  who  was  accustomed  to  attack 
young  girls  on  the  street,  stabbing  them  in  the  upper-arm 
with  a  dagger.  Finally  arrested,  he  was  recognised  as  a 
sadist,  who  at  the  instant  of  stabbing  had  an  ejaculation, 
and  with  whom  the  wounding  of  the  girls  was  an  equi- 
valent for  coitus.  (Wharton,  "A  Treatise  on  Mental  Un- 
soundness," §  623.     Philadelphia,  ISTd.f 

Impotence  exists  likewise  in  the  next  three  cases.  It 
may  be  psychical,  however,  since  the  principal  tone  of  the 
vita  sexualis  lies  in  sadistic  inclination  and  the  normal 
elements  are  distorted  : — 

Case  27.  The  girl-czotter  of  A^tgshurg  (reported  by 
Demme  "  Buch  der  Verbrechen,"  vii.,  p.  281).  Bartle, 
wine-merchant.  He  was  subject  to  lively  sexual  excite- 
ment at  the  age  of  fourteen,  though  decidedly  opposed  to 
its  satisfaction  by  coitus,  his  aversion  going  so  far  as 
disgust  for  the  female  sex.  At  that  time  he  already  had 
the  idea  to  cut  girls,  and  thus  satisfy  his  sexual  desire. 
He  refrained  from  it,  however,  because  of  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity and  courage.  He  disdained  masturbation,  but  now 
and  then  had  pollutions  with  erotic  dreams  of  girls  who 
had  been  cut.     At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  first  cut  a  girl. 

1  Cf.  KraubS,  "  Psychologie  des  Verbrechens,"  1884,  p.  188 ;  Dr.  Hofer, 
"  Annalen  der  Staatsarzneikunde,"  6  Jahrgang,  Heft  2  ;  "  Schmidt's  Jahr- 
biicher,"  Bd.  59,  p.  94. 

^According  to  newspaper  reports,  in  December,  1890,  several  similar 
attacks  were  made  iu  Mainz.  A  young  fellow  between  fourteen  and  six- 
teen years  of  age  pressed  against  women  and  girls  and  stabbed  them  in 
the  legs  with  a  sharp-pointed  instrument.  He  was  arrested,  and  seemed 
to  be  insane.     Further  details  of  the  case  arc  not  kuowu. 


100  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

During  the  act  he  had  a  seminal  emission  and  experienced 
intense  pleasure.  From  that  time  the  impulse  grew  con- 
stantly more  powerful.  He  chose  only  young  and  pretty 
girls,  and,  as  a  rule,  asked  them  before  the  deed  whether 
they  were  still  single.  The  ejaculation  or  sexual  satis- 
faction occurred  only  when  he  was  sure  that  he  had 
actually  wounded  the  girls.  After  such  an  act  he  always 
felt  tired  and  bad,  and  was  also  troubled  with  qualms  of 
conscience.  Up  to  his  thirty-second  year  he  pursued  this 
process  of  cutting,  but  was  always  careful  not  to  wound 
the  girls  dangerously.  From  that  time  until  his  thirty- 
sixth  year  he  was  able  to  control  his  impulse.  Then  he 
sought  to  satisfy  himself  by  simply  pressing  the  girls  on 
the  arm  or  neck,  but  this  gave  rise  to  erections  only  and 
not  to  ejaculation.  Then  he  sought  to  attain  his  object 
by  pricking  the  girls  with  the  knife  left  in  its  sheath,  but 
this  did  not  suffice.  Finally,  he  stabbed  with  the  open 
knife,  and  had  complete  success,  for  he  thought  that  a  girl 
when  stabbed  bled  more  and  suffered  more  pain  than  when 
merely  cut.  In  his  thirty-seventh  year  he  was  detected 
and  arrested.  In  his  lodgings  were  found  a  collection  of 
daggers,  sword-canes,  and  knives.  He  said  that  the  mere 
sight  of  these  weapons,  and  still  more  the  grasping  of 
them,  gave  him  an  intense  feeling  of  sexual  pleasure,  with 
violent  excitement.  According  to  his  own  confession,  he 
had  injured  in  all  fifty  girls.  His  external  appearance 
was  rather  pleasing.  He  lived  in  very  good  circumstances, 
but  was  peculiar  and  shy. 

Case  28.  J.  H.,  aged  twenty-six,  in  1883  came  for 
consultation  concerning  severe  neurasthenia  and  hypo- 
chondria. Patient  confesses  that  he  has  practised  onanism 
since  his  fourteenth  year,  infrequently  up  to  his  eighteenth 
year,  but  since  that  time  he  has  been  unable  to  resist  the 
impulse.  Up  to  that  time  he  had  no  opportunity  to 
approach  females,  for  he  had  been  anxiously  cared,  for 
and  never  left  alone  on  account  of  his  invalidism.     He 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWARD   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       101 

had  had  no  real  desire  for  this  unknown  pleasure,  but  he 
accidentally  learned  what  it  was  when  one  of  his  mother's 
maids  cut  her  hand  severely  on  a  pane  of  glass,  which  she 
had  broken  while  washing  windows.  While  helping  to 
stop  the  bleeding  he  could  not  keep  from  sucking  up  the 
blood  that  flowed  from  the  wound,  and  in  this  act  he 
experienced  extreme  erotic  excitement,  with  complete 
orgasm  and  ejaculation. 

From  that  time  on,  he  sought,  in  every  possible  way 
to  see  and,  where  practicable,  to  taste  the  fresh  blood  of 
females.  That  of  young  girls  was  preferred  by  him.  He 
spared  no  pains  or  expense  to  obtain  this  pleasure.  At 
first  he  availed  himself  of  a  young  servant,  who  allowed 
her  finger  to  be  pricked  with  a  needle  or  lancet  at  his 
request.  When  his  mother  discovered  this,  she  dis- 
charged the  girl.  Then  he  was  driven  to  prostitutes  as  a 
substitute,  with  success  frequently  enough,  though  with 
some  difficulty.  In  the  intervals  he  practised  onanism 
and  manustupration  per  feminam,  which,  however,  never 
afforded  him  complete  satisfaction,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
caused  listlessness  and  self-reproach.  On  account  of 
his  nervous  difficulties  he  visited  many  sanatoria,  and 
was  twice  a  voluntary  patient  in  institutions.  He  used 
hydrotherapy,  electricity,  and  strengthening  cures,  without 
particular  success.  For  a  time  it  was  possible,  by  means 
of  cold  sitz-baths,  monobromate  of  camphor,  and  bromides, 
to  diminish  his  sexual  excitability  and  onanistic  impulse. 
However,  when  the  patient  felt  himself  free  again,  he 
would  immediately  fall  into  his  old  passions,  and  spare  no 
pains  or  money  in  order  to  satisfy  his  sexual  desire  in 
the  abnormal  manner  described. 

Of  special  interest  for  the  scientific  proof  of  sadism  is 
a  case  related  by  Moll  {vide  case  29,  ninth  edition  of  this 
work  (German))  and  recently  published  by  Moll  himself 
in  his  book  on  "  Lil^ido  Sexualis,"  p.  500. 

It  discloses  clearly  one  of  the  hidden  roots  of  sadism 


102  PSTCHOrATHIA   SEXUALTS. 

— the  impulse  to  complete  subjugation  of  the  woman, 
which  here  became  consciously  entertained.  This  is  the 
more  remarkable  since  it  occurred  in  an  individual  de- 
cidedly timid,  and  in  other  respects  modest  and  even 
apprehensive.  The  case  also  shows  clearly  that  powerful 
libido  which  even  impels  the  individual  to  overcome  all 
obstacles,  may  be  present,  while  at  the  same  time  coitus 
is  not  desired,  because  the  principal  intensity  of  feehn.i;-  is, 
ab  origine,  connected  with  the  cruel  part  of  the  sadistic 
(lustful  and  cruel)  circle  of  ideas.  This  case  also  contains 
weak  elements  of  masochism  {v.  infra). 

Cases  are  by  no  means  infrequent  in  which  men  with 
perverse  inclinations  induce  prostitutes,  by  paying  them 
high  prices,  to  allow  themselves  to  be  whipped  and  even 
wounded  by  them.  Works  on  prostitution  contain  re- 
ports of  them  {vide  Cofjignon,  "La  Corruption  a  Paris," 
etc.). 

(d)  Defilement  of  Women. 

The  perverse  sadistic  impulse,  to  injure  women  and  put 
contempt  and  humiliation  upon  them,  is  also  expressed  in 
the  desire  to  defile  them  with  disgusting  or,  at  least  foul 
things. 

The  following  case,  published  by  Arndt  ("  Viertol- 
jahrsschr.  f.  ger.  Medicin,"  N.  F.  xvii.,  H.  1),  belongs 
here  : — 

Case  29.  A.,  medical  student  at  Greifswald,  accusatus 
qnod  itcTum  iteruviqtie  j^'^i^'^^^'i-s  honcstis  parentibus  natis  in 
publico  genitalia  sua  e  brads  depcndentia  j^ld'ne  nudata  qvrs 
antea  summo  amidulo  {overcoat)  tecta  erant,  ostendcrat.  Non- 
nunquam  2yucllas  fugientes  secutus  casque  ad  se  attractas  urina 
oblivit.  Hac  luce  clara  facta  sunt ;  nunquam  aliquid  Jicec 
faciens  locutus  est. 

A.  is  twenty-three  years  old,  well  built,  neat  in  dress, 
and  polite  in  manners.  Indication  of  cranium  progenciim  ; 
chronic  pneumonia  of  the  apex  of  the  light  lung;  empliy- 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       103 

sema.  Pulse,  60  ;  in  excitement  not  more  than  70  to  80. 
Genitals  normal.  Complaints  of  occasional  disturbances 
of  digestion,  and  hardness  of  the  abdomen,  vertigo,  ex- 
cessive excitement  of  sexual  desires,  which  early  led  to 
onanism.  The  sexual  desire  has  never  been  directed 
toward  a  natural  method  of  satisfaction.  Complaints  of 
occasional  attacks  of  depression,  or  thoughts  of  depreca- 
tion of  self,  aiid  of  perverse  impulses,  for  which  he  could 
find  no  motive,  such  as  lau^^hingat  serious  things,  throwing 
his  money  in  the  water,  and  running  about  in  the  pouring 
rain.  The  father  of  the  culprit  is  of  a  nervous  tempera- 
ment, the  mother  subject  to  nervous  headaches.  A 
brother  was  subject  to  epileptic  convulsions. 

From  his  youth  the  culprit  presented  a  nervous  tem- 
perament,  was   inchned   to    convulsions    and   attacks   of 
syncope,  and  when  severely  scolded  would  fall  into  a  state 
of  momentary  stiffness.     In  1869  he  studied  medicine  in 
Berlin.     In  1870   he  went  to  the  war  as  a  hospital  as- 
sistant.    His  letters  at  this  time  betray  peculiar  torpidity 
and  softness.      On  his  return  home,  in  1871,  his  emo- 
tional irritability  was  noticed  at  once  by  those  about  him. 
Thereafter  frequent  complaints   of  bodily  ailments ;    un- 
pleasantness resulting  from  a  love  affair.     In  November, 
1871,  he  pursued  his  studies  dihgently  in  Greifswald.     He 
was  considered  very  gentlemanly.     In  confinement  he  is 
quiet,  calm,  and  sometimes  self-absorbed.      His  acts  he 
attributes  to  painful  sexual  excitement,  which  of  late  had 
become  excessive.     He  declared  that  he  had  been  fully 
conscious  of  his  perverse  acts,  and  after  committing  them 
had    always   been   ashamed   of   them.     He  had  not   ex- 
perienced actual  sexual  satisfaction  in  their  commission. 
He   obtained   no   correct   insight   into   his  position.      He 
considered  himself  a  kind  of  martyr — fallen  a  victim  to  an 
evil  power.     Presumption  of  irresponsibility,  as  a  result  of 
absence  of  free  will. 

The  impulse  to  defile  occurs  also,  paradoxically,  in  the 


104     .  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

aged,  when  there  is  a  reappearance  of  sexual  instinct, 
which,  under  such  circumstances,  is  so  often  expressed  in 
perverse  acts.  Thus  Tarnowsky  reports  (p.  76)  the  following 
case : — 

Case  30.  I  knew  such  a  patient,  who  had  a  woman 
dressed  in  a  decollete  hall-dress  he  down  on  a  low  sofa  in  a 
brightly  lighted  room.  Ij^ise  aptcd  januam  alius  cubiculi 
obscurati  constitit  adsjyiciendo  aliquantulum  feminam,  excitatus 
in  earn  insiluit  et  excrementa  in  sinus  ejus  deposuit.  Hac 
faciens  ejaculationem  quandam  se  sentire  confessus  est. 

An  officer  of  Vienna  informs  me  that  men,  by  means 
of  larc^e  sums  of  money,  induce  prostitutes  to  suffer  ut 
illi  viri  in  ora  earum  spuerent  et  fceces  et  urinas  in  ora 
explerent} 

The  following  case  by  Dr.  Pascal  ("  Igiene  dell'  amore  ") 
seems  also  to  belong  here : — 

Case  31.  A  man  had  an  inamorata.  His  relation 
with  her  was  that  he  had  her  allow  him  to  blacken  her 
hands  with  coal  or  soot,  and  then  she  had  to  sit  before 
a  mirror  in  such  a  way  that  he  could  see  her  hands  in 
it.  -While  conversing  with  her,  which  was  often  for  a 
long  time,  he  looked  constantly  at  her  mirrored  hands, 
and  finally,  after  a  time,  he  would  take  his  leave,  fully 
satisfied. 

The  following  case,  communicated  by  a  physician,  may 
be  of  interest  in  relation  to  this  subject  :— 

An  officer  was  known  in  a  brothel  in  K.  only  by  the 
name  of  "  Oil  ".  "  Oil "  induced  erection  and  ejaculation 
only  by  having  puell.  puhl.  nudam  step  into  a  tub  filled 
with  oil,  while  he  rubbed  the  oil  all  over  her  body. 

1  Leo  Taxil  ("  La  Corruption,"  Paris,  Noiret,  p.  223)  makes  the  same 
statements.  There  are  also  men  who  demand  mtroductio  lingua  mere- 
tricis  in  anum. 


SEXUAL    INCLINATIOK"   TOWARD   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.      105 

These  acts  lead  to  the  presumption  that  certain  cases 
of  injury  of  females  {e.g.,  sprinkhng  with  sulphuric  acid, 
ink,  etc.)  depend  upon  a  perverse  sexual  impulse  ;  at  least, 
here  it  is  a  kind  of  injury,  and  those  injured  are  always 
females,  and  the  perpetrators  males.  At  any  rate  in  the 
future,  in  crimes  of  this  kind,  pains  should  be  taken  to 
examine  into  the  vita  sexualis  of  the  culprits. 

The  case  of  Bachmann,  given  below,  Case  99,  throws 
a  clear  light  on  the  sexual  nature  of  such  crimes  ;  for,  in 
this  case,  the  sexual  motive  in  the  deed  is  proven. 

(e)  Other  Kinds  of  Assault  on  Females — Symbolic  Sadism. 

The  foregoing  groups  do  not  exhaust  the  forms  in 
which  the  sadistic  impulse  toward  women  is  expressed. 
If  the  impulse  is  not  overmastering,  or  if  there  is  yet 
sufficient  moral  resistance,  it  may  happen  that  the  per- 
verse inclination  is  satisfied  by  an  act  that  is  apparently 
quite  senseless  and  silly,  but  which  has  nevertheless  a 
symbolic  meaning  for  the  perpetrator.  This  seems  to  be 
the  meaning  of  the  two  following  cases : — 

Case  32.  (Dr.  Pascal,  "  Igiene  dell'  amore  ".)  A  man 
was  accustomed  to  go,  on  a  certain  day  once  a  month,  to 
an  inamorata  and  cut  her  "fringe".  This  gave  him  the 
greatest  pleasure.  He  made  no  other  demands  on  the 
girl. 

Case  33.  A  man  in  Vienna  regularly  visits  several 
prostitutes  only  to  lather  their  faces  and  then  to  remove 
the  lather  with  a  razor,  as  if  he  were  shaving  them.  He 
never  hurts  the  girls,  but  becomes  sexually  excited  and 
ejaculates  during  the  procedure.^ 

^  Leo  Taxil  (op.  cit.,  p.  224)  relates  that  in  Parisian  brothels  instru- 
ments are  kept  ready  which  look  like  knouts,  but  which  are  merely  tubes 
filled  with  air,  such  as  clowns  use  in  circuses.  Sadistic  men  use  them  to 
create  for  themselves  the  illusion  that  they  are  whipping  women. 


106  PSYCHOrATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

(f)  Sadism  with  Other  Objects — Whi2)ping  of  Boys. 

The  sadistic  acts  with  females  just  now  described 
are  also  practised  on  other  living,  sensitive  objects, — 
children  and  animals.  There  may  be  a  full  consciousness 
that  the  impulse  is  really  directed  towards  women,  and 
that  only  faute  de  mieux  the  nearest  attainable  objects 
(pupils)  are  abused.  But  the  condition  of  the  perpetrator 
may  be  such  that  the  impulse  to  cruel  acts  enters  con- 
sciousness accompanied  only  by  lustful  excitement,  while 
its  real  object  (which  alone  can  explain  the  lustful  colour- 
ine:  of  such  acts)  remains  latent. 

The  first  alternative  suffices  as  an  explanation  of  the 
cases  which  Dr.  Albert  describes  (Friedreich's  "  Blatter  f. 
ger.  Med.,"  p.  77,  1859), — cases  in  which  lustful  teachers 
whipped  their  pupils  on  the  naked  buttocks  without  cause. 
We  must  think  of  the  second  alternative,  the  sadistic  im- 
pulse with  unconsciousness  of  its  object,  when  boys  are 
immediately  excited  sexually  at  the  sight  of  pimishment 
of  their  companions,  and  are  thus  determined  in  their 
later  vita  sextiolis,  as  in  the  following  cases  : — 

Case  34.  K.,  aged  twenty-five,  merchant,  appHed  to 
me  in  the  fall  of  1889  for  advice  concerning  an  anomaly 
of  his  vita  sexualis,  which  made  him  fear  invalidism  and 
impossibility  of  future  happiness  in  marriage. 

Patient  came  of  a  nervous  family.  As  a  child  he  was 
delicate,  weak,  and  nervous.  Healthy  except  for  measles  ; 
later  on  he  became  more  robust. 

At  the  age  of  eight,  while  at  school,  he  saw  the 
teacher  punish  the  boys  by  taking  their  heads  between 
his  thighs  and  spanking  them  with  a  ferule.  This  sight 
caused  the  patient  lustful  excitement.  "Without  any 
idea  of  the  danger  and  enormity  of  onanism,"  he  satisfied 
himself  with  it,  and  from  that  time  often  masturbated, 
always  calling  up  the  memory -picture  of  a  boy  being 
punished. 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       107 

Thus  it  continued  until  his  twentieth  year.  Then  he 
learned  the  significance  of  onanism,  was  terribly  fright- 
ened, and  tried  to  overcome  his  impulse  to  masturbate  ; 
but  he  fell  into  the  practice  of  psychical  onanism,  which 
he  regarded  as  innocuous  and  morally  defensible,  and  for 
which  he  made  use  of  the  memory-pictures  of  boys  being 
whipped,  previously  mentioned. 

Patient  now  became  neurasthenic,  suffered  with  pol- 
lutions, and  tried  to  cure  himself  by  visiting  brothels; 
but  he  could  not  induce  erection.  Then  he  sought  to 
obtain  normal  sexual  feelings  by  means  of  social  mter- 
course  with  ladies;  but  he  recognised  that  he  was  entirely 
insensible  to  the  charms  of  the  fair  sex. 

The  patient  is  an  intelligent  man,  normally  developed, 
and  of  aesthetic  taste.  There  is  no  mclination  to  persons 
of  his  own  sex.  My  advice  consisted  of  means  to  combat 
the  neurasthenia  and  pollutions  ;  interdiction  of  psychical 
and  manual  onanism;  avoidance  of  all  sexual  excitants; 
and,  possibly,  hypnotic  treatment  to  ultimately  induce  a 
return  of  the  vita  sexualis  to  its  normal  condition. 

Case  35.  Abortive  sadism.  N.,  student,  came  under 
observation  in  December,  1890.  He  had  practised  mas- 
turbation from  early  youth.  According  to  his  statements, 
he  became  sexually  excited  when  he  saw  his  father  whip 
the  children,  and,  later,  when  he  saw  his  companions 
whipped  by  the  teacher.  When  a  spectator  of  such 
scenes,  he  always  experienced  lustful  feelings.  He  could 
not  say  exactly  when  this  first  occurred,  but  it  iriay 
have  been  at  about  the  age  of  six.  He  could  not  tell 
exactly  when  he  began  to  masturbate,  but  he  stated  with 
certainty  that  his  sexual  instinct  was  first  awakened  by 
the  punishment  of  others,  and  thus  he  unconsciously 
came  to  practise  onanism.  The  patient  remembered 
clearly  that  from  the  age  of  four  to  the  age  of  eight  he 
was  frequciitly  spanked,  and  that  this  caused  him  pain, 
never  lustful  pleasure. 


108  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Since  he  did  not  always  have  opportunity  to  see  others 
whipped,  he  began  to  imagine  how  others  were  punished. 
This  excited  his  lust,  and  he  would  then  masturbate. 
Whenever  he  could,  he  managed  to  see  others  punished 
at  school.  Now  and  then  he  also  felt  desire  to  whip 
others.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  induced  a  comrade  to 
allow  him  to  whip  him.  He  found  great  sexual  pleasure 
in  it.  "When,  however,  his  companion  beat  him  in  return 
he  experienced  nothing  but  pain. 

The  impulse  to  beat  others  was  never  very  strong. 
The  patient  experienced  more  satisfaction  in  filling  his 
imagination  with  scenes  of  whipping.  He  never  indulged 
in  any  other  sadistic  acts,  and  never  had  any  desire  to  see 
blood,  etc.  Up  to  his  fifteenth  year  his  sexual  indulgence 
consisted  of  onanism,  coupled  with  such  fancies.  After 
that  (dancing  lessons,  association  with  girls)  the  early 
fancies  disappeared  almost  entirely  and  were  accompanied 
by  but  weak  lustful  feelings  ;  so  that  the  patient  gave 
them  up  entirely.  In  their  place  came  thoughts  of  coitus 
in  a  natural  way,  without  anything  sadistic. 

The  patient  indulged  in  coitus  for  the  first  time  "  on 
account  of  his  health".  He  was  potent,  and  the  act 
gratified  him.  He  then  tried  to  abstain  from  onanism, 
but  was  not  successful,  though  he  often  indulged  in 
coitus,  and  with  more  pleasure  than  he  had  in  onanism. 
He  wished  to  be  freed  from  onanism  as  something 
vicious.  He  had  coitus  once  a  month,  but  masturbated 
once  or  twice  everj^  night.  He  was  sexually  normal, 
excepting  the  onanism.  There  was  no  neurasthenia; 
genitals  normal. 

Case  36.  P.,  aged  15,  of  high  social  position,  came  of 
a  hysterical  mother  whose  brother  and  father  died  in  an 
asylum.  Two  children  of  the  family  died  in  early  child- 
hood of  convulsions.  The  patient  is  talented,  virtuous, 
and  quiet ;  but  at  times  he  is  very  disobedient,  stubborn, 
and  of  violent  temper.     He  has  epilepsy,  and  practises 


SEXUAL   INCLINATION   TOWAED   THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.      109 

onanism.  One  day  it  was  learned  that  P.,  with  money, 
induced  a  conn-ade  of  fourteen,  B.,  to  allow  hiinself  to 
be  pinched  in  the  arms,  genitals,  and  thighs.  When  B. 
cried,  P.  became  excited  and  struck  at  B.  with  his  right 
hand,  while  with  his  left  he  made  manipulations  in  the 
left  pocket  of  his  trousers.  P.  confessed  that  to  maltreat 
his  friend,  of  whom  he  was  very  fond,  gave  him  peculiar 
dehght ;  and  that  ejaculation  while  hurting  his  friend 
gave  him  much  more  pleasure  than  when  he  masturbated 
alone  (v.  Gyurkovechky,  "Pathol,  und  Therapie  der  mannl. 
Impotenz.,"  p.  80,  1889). 

That  in  all  these  cases  of  sadistic  abuse  of  boys  there 
can  be  no  thought  of  a  combination  of  sadism  and  con- 
trary sexual  mstinct,  as  often  occurs  {v.  infra)  in  indi- 
viduals of  contrary  sexuality,  is  shown — aside  from  the 
absence  of  all  positive  signs  of  it — by  a  study  of  the  next 
group,  where,  in  association  with  the  object  of  injury, — 
animals, —  the  instinct  for  women  is  seen  to  appear 
repeatedly. 

(g)   Sadistic  Acts  tvith  Animals. 

In  numerous  cases,  sadistically  perverse  men,  afraid 
of  criminal  acts  with  human  beings,  or  who  care  only 
for  the  sight  of  the  suffering  of  a  sensitive  being,  make 
use  of  the  sight  of  dying  animals,  or  torture  animals,  to 
stimulate  or  excite  their  lust. 

The  case  of  a  man  in  Vienna,  which  is  reported  by 
Hofmann  in  his  "Text-Book  of  Legal  Medicine,"  is  note- 
worthy in  relation  to  this.  According  to  the  evidence  of 
several  prostitutes,  before  the  sexual  act  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  excite  himself  by  torturing  and  killing  chickens 
and  pigeons  and  other  birds,  and,  therefore,  was  called 
"  Hendlherr  "  (chickenmister). 

For  the  elucidation  of  such  cases  the  observation  of 
Lombroso  is  of  value,  according  to  whom  two  men  had 


110  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

ejaculation  when  they  killed  chickens  or  pigeons,  or  wrung 
their  necks. 

The  same  author,  in  his  "  Uomo  dehnquente,"  p.  201, 
speaks  of  a  poet  of  some  reputation,  who  became  power- 
fully excited  sexually  whenever  he  saw  calves  slaughtered, 
and  also  at  the  sight  of  bloody  meat 

Mantegazza  {op.  cit.  p.  114)  relates  that  among  degene- 
rate Chinese  the  practice  prevails  to  sodomise  geese  and 
at  the  moment  of  ejaculation  to  cut  off  their  heads. 

Mantegazza  ("  Fisiologia  del  piacere,"  fifth  ed.,  pp.  394, 
395)  mentions  the  case  of  a  man  who  once  saw  chickens 
killed,  and  from  that  time  had  a  desire  to  wallow  in  their 
warm,  steaming  entrails,  because  he  experienced  a  feeling 
of  lust  while  doing  it. 

Thus,  in  these  and  similar  cases,  the  vita  sexualis  is 
so  constituted  ab  origine  that  the  sight  of  blood,  death, 
etc.,  excites  lustful  feeling.  It  is  so  in  the  following 
case  : — 

Case  37.  C.  L.,  aged  forty-two,  engineer,  married, 
father  of  two  children  ;  from  a  neuropathic  family  ;  father 
irascible,  a  drinker  ;  mother  hysterical,  subject  to  eclamptic 
attacks.  The  patient  remembers  that  in  childhood  he 
took  particular  pleasure  in  witnessing  the  slaughtering  of 
domestic  animals,  especially  swine.  He  thus  experienced 
lustful  pleasure  and  ejaculation.  Later  he  visited  slaughter- 
houses, in  order  to  delight  in  the  sight  of  flowing  blood 
and  the  death  throes  of  the  animals.  When  he  could  find 
opportunity,  he  killed  the  animals  himself,  which  always 
afforded  him  a  vicarious  feeling  of  sexual  pleasure. 

At  the  time  of  full  maturity  he  first  attained  to  a 
knowledge  of  his  abnormality.  The  patient  was  not 
exactly  opposed  in  inclination  to  women,  but  close  contact 
with  them  seemed  to  him  repugnant.  On  the  advice  of 
a  physician,  at  twenty-five  he  married  a  woman  who 
pleased  him,  in  the  hope  of  freeing  himself  of  his  abnor- 
mal condition.     Although  he  was  very  partial  to  his  wife, 


SEXUAL    INCLINATION   TOWAED    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       Ill 

it  was  only  seldom,  and  after  great  trouble  and  exertion  of 
his  imagination,  that  he  could  perform  coitus  with  her; 
nevertheless,  he  begat  two  children.  In  1866  he  was  in 
the  war  in  Bohemia.  His  letters  written  at  that  time  to 
his  wife,  were  composed  in  an  exalted,  enthusiastic  tone. 
He  was  missed  after  the  battle  of  Koniggratz, 

If,  in  this  case,  the  capability  of  normal  coitus  was 
much  impaired  by  the  predominance  of  perverse  ideas,  in 
the  following  it  seems  to  have  been  entirely  repressed  : — 

Case  38.  (Dr.  Pascal,  "  Igiene  dell'  amore.")  A  gentle- 
man visited  prostitutes,  had  them  purchase  a  living  fowl 
or  rabbit,  and  made  them  torture  the  animal.  He  par- 
ticularly revelled  in  the  sight  of  cutting  off  the  heads  and 
tearing  out  the  eyes  and  entrails.  If  he  found  a  girl  who 
would  consent,  and  go  about  it  right  cruelly,  he  was  de- 
lighted, and  paid  her  and  went  his  way  without  asking 
anything  more  or  touching  her. 

The  last  two  sections  show  that  the  suffering  of  any 
living  being  may  become  a  source  of  perverse  sexual  en- 
joyment to  sadistically  constituted  persons,  and  that  there 
may  be  sadism  with  almost  any  [living]  object.  How- 
ever, it  would  be  erroneous  and  an  exaggeration  to  try  to 
explain  by  sadistic  perversion  all  the  remarkable  and  sur- 
prising acts  of  cruelty  that  occur,  and  to  assume  sadism 
as  the  motive  underlying  all  the  horrors  recorded  in  history 
or  found  in  certain  psychological  manifestations  among 
the  peoples  of  the  present  time. 

Cruelty  arises  from  various  sources  and  is  natural  to 
primitive  man.  Compassion,  in  contrast  with  it,  is  a 
secondary  manifestation  and  acquired  late.  The  instinct 
to  fight  and  destroy,  so  important  an  endowment  in  pre- 
historic conditions,  is  long  afterwards  operative ;  and,  in 
the  ideas  engendered  by  civilisation,  like  that  of  "  the 
criniinal,"  it  finds    new  objects,   so    long  as    its    original 


112  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

object — "  the  enemy  " — still  exists.  That  not  simply  the 
death,  but  also  torture  of  the  conquered  is  demanded,  is 
in  part  explained  by  the  sense  of  power,  which  satisfies 
itself  in  this  way,  and  in  part  by  the  insatiableness  of  the 
impulse  of  vengeance.  Thus  all  horrors  and  historical 
enormities  may  be  explained  without  recourse  to  sadism 
(which  may  often  enough  have  been  the  motive,  but 
should  not  be  assumed  as  such,  since  it  is  relatively  a 
rare  perversion). 

At  the  same  time,  there  is  still  another  powerful 
psychical  element  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  which 
explains  the  attraction  which  is  still  exerted  by  execu- 
tions, etc.  ;  viz.,  the  pleasure  which  is  produced  by  intense 
and  unusual  impressions  and  rare  sights,  in  contrast  to 
which,  in  coarse  and  blunted  beings,  pity  is  silent. 

But  undoubtedly  there  are  individuals  for  whom,  in 
spite  or  even  by  reason  of  their  lively  compassion,  all  that 
is  connected  with  death  and  suffering  has  a  mysterious 
attraction  who,  with  inward  opposition,  and  yet  follow- 
ing a  dark  impulse,  occupy  themselves  with  such  things, 
or  at  least  with  pictures  and  notices  of  them.  Still,  this 
is  not  sadism,  as  long  as  no  sexual  element  enters  into 
consciousness  ;  and  yet  it  is  possible  that,  in  unconscious 
life,  slender  threads  connect  such  manifestations  with  the 
hidden  depths  of  sadism. 

(h)  Sadism  in  Woman. 

That  sadism — a  perversion,  though  often  met  with  in 
men — is  less  frequent  in  women,  may  be  easily  explained. 
In  the  first  place,  sadism,  in  which  the  need  of  subju- 
gation of  the  opposite  sex  forms  a  constituent  element, 
in  accordance  with  its  nature  represents  a  pathological 
intensification  of  the  mascuhne  sexual  character ;  in  the 
second  place,  the  obstacles  which  oppose  the  expression 
of  this  monstrous  impulse  are,  of  course,  much  greater  for 
woman  than  for  man.     Yet  sadism  occurs  in  women,  and 


BEXUAL    INCLINATION    TOWARD    THE    OPPOSITE    SEX.       113 

it  can  only  be  explained  by  the  primary  constituent  ele- 
ment— the  general  hyper-excitation  of  the  motor  sphere. 
Only  two  cases  have  thus  far  been  scientifically  studied. 

Case  39.  A  married  man  presented  himself  with 
numerous  scars  of  cuts  on  his  arms.  He  told  their  origin 
as  follows  :  When  he  wished  to  approach  his  wife,  who 
was  young  and  somewhat  "nervous,"  he  first  had  to 
make  a  cut  in  his  arm.  Then  she  would  suck  the  wound 
and  during  the  act  become  violently  excited  sexually. 

This  case  recalls  the  widespread  legend  of  the  vam- 
pires, the  origin  of  which  may  perhaps  be  referred  to  such 
sadistic  facts.^ 

In  a  second  case  of  feminine  sadism,  for  which  I  am 
indebted  to  Dr.  Moll,  of  Berlin,  by  the  side  of  the  perverse 
impulse,  as  so  frequently  happens,  there  is  anaesthesia  in 
the  normal  activities  of  sexual  life ;  and  there  are  also 
traces  of  masochism  (v.  infra). 

Case  40.  Mrs.  H.,  of  H.,  aged  twenty-six,  comes  of  a 
family  in  which  nervous  or  mental  diseases  are  said  not  to 
have  been  observed ;  but  the  patient  herself  presents  signs  of 
hysteria  and  neurasthenia.  Although  married  eight  years 
and  the  mother  of  a  child,  Mrs.  H.  never  had  desire  to 
perform  coitus.  Very  strictly  educated  as  a  young  girl, 
until  her  marriage  she  remained  almost  innocent  of  any 
knowledge  of  sexual  matters.  She  has  menstruated 
regularly  since  her  fifteenth  year.  Essential  abnormality 
of  the  genitals  is  not  apparent.  To  the  patient  coitus  is 
not  only  not  a  pleasure,  but  even  an  unpleasant  act,  and 
repugnance  to  it  has  constantly  increased.     The  patient 

^  The  legend  is  especially  spread  throughout  the  Balkan  peninsula^ 
Among  the  modern  Greeks  it  has  its  origin  in  the  myth  of  the  lainia  and 
marniolykes — blood-sucking  women.  Goethe  made  use  of  this  in  his  "  Bride 
of  Corinth  ".  The  verses  referring  to  vampirism,  "  suck  thy  heart's  blood," 
etc.,  can  be  thoroughly  understood  only  when  conapared  with  their  ancient 
sources. 

8 


114  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

cannot  understand  how  any  one  can  call  such  an  act  the 
greatest  delight  of  love,  which  to  her  is  something  far 
sublimer  and  unconnected  with  sensual  impulse.  At  the 
same  time  it  should  be  mentioned  that  the  patient  really 
loves  her  husband.  In  kissing  him,  too,  she  experiences 
a  decided  pleasure,  which  she  cannot  exactly  describe. 
But  she  cannot  conceive  how  the  genitals  can  have 
anything  to  do  with  love.  In  other  respects  Mrs.  H.  is 
a  decidedly  intelligent  woman  of  feminine  character. 

Si  oscula  dat  conjugi,  magnam  voluptatem  percipit  in 
mordendo  eum.  Gratissimam  ei  esset  conjugem  mordere 
eo  modo  ut  sanguis  fluat.  Contenta  esset,  si  loco  coitus 
morderetur  a  conjuge  ipssoque  eum  mordere  licerut. 
Tamen  earn  poeniteret,  si  morsu  magnum  dolorem  faccret 
(Dr.  Moll). 

In  history  there  are  examples  of  famous  women  who, 
to  some  extent,  had  sadistic  instincts.  These  Messalinas 
are  particularly  characterised  by  their  thirst  for  power, 
lust,  and  cruelty.  Among  them  are  Valeria  Messalina 
herself,  and  Catherine  de'  Medici,  the  instigator  of  the 
Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  whose  greatest  pleasure 
was  to  have  the  ladies  of  her  court  whipped  before  her 
eyes,  etc.^     (Confer  above,  pp.  111-11'2.) 

1  The  gifted  Henry  von  Kleist,  who  was  beyond  doubt  mentally  abnor- 
mal, gives  a  masterly  portrayal  of  complete  feminine  sadism  in  his 
"  Peuthesilea ".  In  scene  xxii.,  Kleist  describes  his  heroine  pursuing 
Achilles  in  the  fire  of  love,  and  when  he  is  betrayed  into  her  hands,  she 
tears  him  with  lustful,  murderous  fury  into  pieces,  and  sets  her  dogs  on 
him:  "  She  strikes,  tearing  the  armour  from  his  body,  her  teeth  in  his 
white  breast — she  and  her  dogs,  the  rivals,  Oxus  and  Sphynx — they  on 
the  right  side,  she  on  the  left ;  and  as  I  approached  blood  dripped  from 
her  hands  and  mouth."  And  later,  when  Penthesilea  becomes  satiated  : 
"  Did  I  kiss  him  to  death  ?  No.  Did  I  not  kiss  him  ?  Torn  in  pieces  ? 
Then  it  was  a  mistake ;  kissing  rhymes  with  biting  [in  German,  Kiisse, 
Bisse],  and  one  who  loves  with  the  whole  heart  might  easily  mistake  the 
one  for  the  other."  In  recent  litei-at.ure  we  find  the  matter  frequently 
treated,  but  particularly  in  Sitcli,cr-Masoch's  novels,  which  are  hereafter  to 
be  alluded  to,  and  in  Ernest  von  WiLlenbriich's  "  Brunhilde,"  Rachilde's 
"La  Marquise  de  Sade,"  etc. 


MASOCHISM.  115 

2.    The  Association  of   Passively   Endured   Cruelty   and 
Violence  witii  Lust — IVlasochism,^ 

Masochism  is  the  opposite  of  sadism.  While  the 
latter  is  the  desire  to  cause  pain  and  use  force,  the  former 
is  the  wish  to  suffer  pain  and  be  subjected  to  force. 

By  masochism  I  understand  a  pecuhar  perversion  of 
the  psychical  vita  sexualis  in  which  the  mdividual  affected, 
in  sexual  feehng  and  thought,  is  controlled  by  the  idea  of 
being  completely  and  unconditionally  subject  to  the  will 
of  a  person  of  the  opposite  sex  ;  of  being  treated  by  this 
person  as  by  a  master,  humiliated  and  abused-  This  idea 
is  coloured  by  lustful  feeling;  the  masocbist  lives  in 
fancies,  in  which  he  creates  situations  of  this  kind  and 
often  attempts  to  realise  them.  By  this  perversion  his 
sexual  instinct  is  often  made  more  or  less  insensible  to  the 
normal  charms  of  the  opposite  sex — incapable  of  a  normal 
vita  sextialis — psychically  impotent.  But  this  psychical 
impotence  does  not  in  any  way  depend  upon  a  horror  sexus 
alterius,  but  upon  the  fact  that  this  perverse  instinct  finds 
an  adequate  satisfaction  differing  from  the  normal — in 
woman,  to  be  sure,  but  not  in  coitus. 

But  cases  also  occur  in  which  with  the  perverse  im- 
pulse there  is  still  some  sensibility  to  normal  stimuli,  and 
intercourse  under  normal  conditions  takes  place.  In  other 
cases  the  impotence  is  not  purely  psychical,  but  physical, 
i.e.,  spinal ;  for  this  perversion,  like  almost  all  other  per- 
versions of  the  sexual  instinct,  is  developed  only  on  the 
basis  of  a  psychopathic  and,  for  the  most  part,  hereditarily 
tainted  individuality  ;  and  as  a  rule  such  individuals  are 
given  to  excesses,  particularly  masturbation,  to  which  the 
difficulty  of  attaining  what  their  fancy  creates  drives  them 
again  and  again. 

1  So  named  from  the  writer,  Sachar-Masoch,  whose  romances  and 
novels  have  as  their  particular  ohject  the  description  of  this  perversion. 
Those  novels  caused  the  author  of  this  book  to  make  observations  iu  this 
field  and  introduce  the  term  Masochism,  analogous  to  the  expression 
Daltonism,  from  Dalton,  the  discoverer  of  colour-blindness. 


116  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

The  number  of  cases  of  undoubted  masochism  thus 
far  observed  is  very  large.  Whether  masochism  occurs 
associated  v^ith  normal  sexual  instincts,  or  exclusively 
controls  the  individual  ;  whether,  and  to  what  extent,  the 
individual  subject  to  this  perversion  strives  to  realise  his 
pecuhar  fancies  or  not;  whether  he  has  thus  more  or  less 
diminished  his  virilitv  or  not, — depends  upon  the  degree 
of  intensity  of  the  perversion  in  the  single  case,  upon  the 
strength  of  the  opposing  ethical  and  aesthetic  motives  and 
the  relative  power  of  the  physical  and  mental  organisation 
of  the  affected  individual.  From  the  psychopathic  point 
of  view,  the  essential  and  common  element  in  all  these 
cases  is  the  fact  that  the  sexual  instiiict  is  directed  to  ideas  oj 
subjugation  and  abtise  by  the  opposite  sex. 

Whatever  has  been  said  with  reference  to  the  im- 
pulsive character  (indistinctness  of  motive)  the  resulting 
acts  and  with  reference  to  the  original  (congenital)  nature 
of  the  perversion  in  sadism,  is  also  true  in  masochism. 

In  masochism  there  is  a  gradation  of  the  acts  from 
the  most  repulsive  and  monstrous  to  the  silliest,  regulated 
by  the  degree  of  intensity  of  the  perverse  instinct  and  the 
power  of  the  remnants  of  moral  and  aesthetic  counter- 
motives.  The  extreme  consequences  of  masochism,  how- 
ever, are  checked  by  the  instnict  of  self-preservation,  and 
therefore  murder  and  serious  injury,  which  may  be  com- 
mitted in  sadistic  excitement,  have  here  in  reality,  so  far 
as  known,  no  passive  equivalent.  Bat  the  perverse  de- 
sires of  masochistic  individuals  may  in  imagination  attain 
these  extreme  consequences  {v.  infra,  case  50). 

Moreover,  the  acts  to  which  masochists  resort  are  in 
some  cases  performed  in  connection  with  coitus,  i.e.,  as 
preparatory  measures  ;  in  others,  as  substitutes  for  coitus 
"when  this  is  impossible.  This,  too,  depends  only  upon  the 
condition  of  sexual  power,  which  has  been  diminished  for 
the  most  part  physically  and  mentally  by  the  activity  of 
the  sexual  ideas  in  the  perverse  direction,  and  not  upon 
the  nature  of  the  act  itself. 


MASOCHISM.  117 

(a)   The  Desire  for  Abuse  and  Humiliation  as  a  Means  of 
Sexual  Satisfaction. 

The  following  detailed  autobiography  of  a  masochist 
gives  an  exhaustive  description  of  a  typical  case  of  this 
remarkable  perversion  : — 

Case  41 .  "I  come  of  a  neuropathic  family,  in  which, 
with  all  kinds  of  peculiarities  of  character  and  manner  of 
life,  there  are  several  abnormalities  of  a  sexual  nature. 
My  imagination  has  always  been  very  lively,  and  was 
very  early  directed  to  sexual  matters.  As  far  as  I  can 
remember,  I  was  much  given  to  onanism  long  before 
puberty.  Even  at  that  time  my  thoughts  were,  for 
hours  at  a  time,  directed  to  intercourse  with  females. 
But  the  relations  in  which  I  placed  myself  with  the  op- 
posite sex  were  very  peculiar.  I  fancied  that  I  was  a 
prisoner  and  absolutely  in  a  woman's  power,  and  that 
this  woman  used  her  power  to  hurt  and  abuse  me  in 
every  way  possible.  In  this,  whipping  and  blows  played 
an  important  part  in  my  fancy,  and  there  were  many 
other  acts  and  situations  which  all  expressed  the  condi- 
tion of  vassalage  and  subjection.  I  saw  myself  constantly 
kneeling  before  my  ideal,  trod  upon,  laden  with  chains, 
and  imprisoned.  Severe  punishments  of  all  kinds  were 
inflicted  on  me  to  test  my  obedience  and  please  my  mis- 
tress. The  more  severely  I  was  humiliated  and  abused 
the  more  I  indulged  in  these  thoughts.  (At  the  same 
time  I  developed  a  great  preference  for  velvet  and  fur, 
which  I  liked  to  touch  and  smooth,  and  which  likewise 
excited  me  sexually.) 

"  I  remember  well  that  when  a  child  I  received  many 
actual  whippings  at  the  hands  of  females.  They  never 
caused  me  any  other  feeling  than  pain  and  shame ;  never 
have  I  thought  to  connect  such  realities  with  my  fancies. 
A  threat  to  punish  me  severely  and  correct  me  agitated 
me  painfully ;  but  in  my  fancy  I  assumed  a  desire  on  the 
part  of  my  "  mistress  "  to  enjoy  my  suffering  and  humili- 


118  PSYCHOrATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

ation,  which  entranced  me.  I  have  never  brought  into 
relation  with  my  fancies  the  directions  and  commands  of 
the  females  who  took  care  of  me.  I  was  early  able  to 
discover  the  truth  about  the  relation  of  the  sexes  ;  but 
this  knowledge  made  no  impression  on  me.  The  idea  of 
sensual  pleasure  remained  connected  with  the  fancies 
with  which  it  was  originally  associated.  I  also  had  the 
desire  to  touch  females,  to  embrace  and  kiss  them,  but 
I  looked  for  the  greatest  delight  only  in  being  maltreated 
by  them,  and  in  situations  in  which  they  would  cause  me 
to  feel  their  power.  I  soon  came  to  realise  that  I  differed 
from  other  men,  and  preferred  to  be  alone  and  absorbed 
in  my  dreams.  In  my  boyhood,  real  girls  and  women 
had  but  little  interest  for  me ;  for  I  saw  no  possibility  of 
having  them  act  in  the  way  I  desired.  On  lonely  paths 
in  the  forest  I  whipped  myself  with  branches  that  had 
fallen  from  the  trees,  and  allowed  my  imagination  to  play 
in  the  wonted  way.  revelled  in  the  sight  of  pictures  of 
commandiag  women,  particularly  if,  like  queens,  they 
wore  furs.  I  read  everything  relating  to  my  cherished 
ideas.  '  Rosseau's  Confessions,' which  then  fell  into  my 
hands,  were  a  great  discovery.  '  found  a  condition  de- 
scribed that  resembled  mine  in  every  essential.  I  was 
still  more  astonished  at  the  similarity  of  my  ideas  to 
those  I  found  in  the  writings  of  Sacher-Masoch.  I  de- 
voured them  all  with  avidity,  though  the  blood-curdling 
scenes  often  outstripped  my  imagination,  and  then  excited 
my  aversion.  Later,  in  order  to  supply  new  food  for  my 
fancy,  I  began  to  write  descriptions  of  erotic  scenes  to 
my  taste,  and  to  make  drawings  of  situations  which,  up 
to  this  time,  I  had  drawn  only  in  imagination.  In  this, 
reality  was  wholly  an  indifferent  matter  to  me.  In  the 
presence  of  a  woman  I  was  devoid  of  every  sensual  feel- 
ing ;  at  most,  at  the  sight  of  a  feminine  foot  a  fleeting  wish 
would  arise  to  be  trodden  upon  by  it. 

"This  indifference,  however,  was  only  in  relation  to 
pure  sensuality.     In  late  boyhood  and  early  youth  1  was 


MASOCHISM.  119 

suljjoct  to  an  enthusiastic  partiality  for  young  girls  of  my 
acquaintance,  with  all  the  extravagances  common  to  this 
youthful  enthusiasm.  But  it  never  occurred  to  me  to 
connect  the  vi^orld  of  my  sensual  thoughts  with  these  pure 
ideals.  I  never  had  to  overcome  such  a  thought  ;  it  never 
occurred  to  me.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  since  my 
lustful  fancies  seemed  very  strange  to  me,  and  unattainable 
in  reality,  but  in  now^ise  vile  or  obnoxious.  This,  too,  was 
a  kind  of  poetry  with  me  ;  but  it  was  divided  into  two 
worlds — on  the  one  hand  was  my  heart,  or,  rather,  my 
aesthetically  excited  fancy ;  on  the  other,  my  sensually 
inflamed  imagination.  While  my  "elevated  "  feeling  al- 
ways had  a  certain  young  girl  for  its  object,  at  other  times 
I  saw  myself  at  the  feet  of  a  mature  woman,  who  treated 
me  as  previously  described.  I  never  placed  any  lady  of 
my  acquaintance  in  this  role.  In  dreams  the  two  spheres 
of  my  erotic  ideas  recurred  alternately,  but  never  combined. 
Only  the  images  of  the  sensual  sphere  induced  pollutions. 
"  In  my  nineteenth  year  I  allowed  myself,  with  outward 
reluctance  but  with  inward  desire,  to  be  taken  by  friends 
to  visit  prostitutes.  But  there  I  experienced  nothing  but 
repugnance  and  aversion,  and  left  as  soon  as  possible, 
without  having  felt  the  faintest  trace  of  sensual  excite- 
ment. Later,  on  my  own  initiative,  I  repeated  the 
attempt,  in  order  to  convince  myself  as  to  whether  I  was 
impotent  or  not ;  for  I  was  much  troubled  by  my  un- 
expected failure  in  the  first  instance.  The  result  was 
always  the  same — I  felt  no  excitement  at  all,  and  had  not 
the  slightest  erection.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  not  pos- 
sible for  me  to  regard  a  real  woman  as  an  object  of  sensual 
gratification  ;  and,  furthermore,  I  could  not  i enounce  the 
conditions  and  situations  which  were  the  principal  things 
in  sexualihus  for  me,  and  about  which  nothing  could  induce 
me  to  say  a  word.  Imissio  penis — the  act  to  be  under- 
taken by  me — seemed  to  me  absolutely  senseless  and 
unclean.  Again,  in  the  second  place,  there  was  also  my 
repugnance  for  common  women  and  fear  of  infection. 


120  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

"  In  the  meantime,  in  secret,  my  sexual  life  went  on  in 
the  old  fashion.  Whenever  my  old  fancies  came  to  mind, 
violent  erection  occurred,  and  I  provoked  ejaculations 
almost  daily.  I  began  to  suffer  with  all  kinds  of  nervous 
troubles,  and  now  regarded  myself  as  impotent,  in  spite 
of  powerful  erections  and  intense  desire  when  I  was  alone. 
Nevertheless,  from  time  to  time  I  continued  my  experi- 
ments with  prostitutes.  In  time  I  overcame  my  timidity, 
and  in  part  my  aversion  to  contact  with  common  women. 

"  After  I  had,  with  advancing  years,  overcome  to  some 
extent  my  shyness  and  my  inchnation  to  indulge  in 
dreams,  in  my  sexual  thought  there  was  an  approach  to 
the  normal,  as  I  began  to  direct  my  interest  to  real  persons. 
I  was  even  successful  in  directing  sensual  thoughts  to 
women  of  my  acquaintance,  without  carrying  over  any  of 
my  peculiar  ideas  from  the  other  sphere.  Thus  I  had 
some  affairs  with  respectable  girls.  Embracing  and  kiss- 
ing occurred ;  desire  was  excited,  but  not  the  power — at 
least,  it  was  too  weak  to  allow  me  to  think  that  under 
normal  circumstances  I  should  be  virile.  Of  course,  the 
attention  I  gave  to  the  excitation  of  my  sexual  power  was 
not  calculated  to  favour  this.  Thus,  always  greatly  ashamed, 
I  broke  off  the  relations. 

"  My  fancy  no  longer  satisfied  me.  I  went  more  fre- 
quently with  prostitutes,  and  after  failures  in  coitus  made 
them  to  perform  manustupration  on  me.  I  always  anti- 
cipated to  realise  by  this  act  a  more  intense  pleasure 
than  my  fancies  could  convey,  but  met  with  disappoint- 
ment. Whilst  the  woman  undressed  my  eyes  followed  her 
garments  ;  but  although  even  these  never  had  a  strong 
attraction  for  me,  nevertheless,  they  excited  me  more  than 
the  naked  woman  ever  did.  The  real  object  of  my  interest 
was  the  woman  well  attired.  Velvet  and  furs  were  the 
chief  attractions,  but  also  every  other  article  of  female 
attire  and  especially  the  figure  well  outlined  by  lacing  and 
prominent  hips.  The  nude  woman  only  offered  an  object 
of  sesthetic  interest.     I  was  much  enchanted  by  women's 


MASOCHISM,  121 

boots,  especially  those  with  high  heels,  because  they 
associated  the  idea  of  being  trodden  upon  by  them  or 
suggested  my  doing  homage  by  kissing  the  foot. 

"  At  last  I  overcame  the  last  vestige  of  my  shyness,  and 
one  day,  to  realise  my  dreams,  had  myself  w^hipped,  trod 
upon,  etc.,  by  a  prostitute.  The  result  was  a  great  dis- 
appointment. What  was  done  to  me  I  felt  to  be  rough, 
repugnant,  and  silly.  The  blows  caused  me  nothing  but 
pain  ;  the  situation,  repugnance  and  shame.  Nevertheless, 
I  induced  an  ejaculation  mechanically,  with  which,  by 
the  help  of  my  imagination,  T  transformed  the  real  situa- 
tion into  that  for  which  I  longed.  This — the  really  de- 
sired situation — differed  from  the  actual,  essentially,  in  that 
I  created  in  imagination  a  woman  who  abused  me  with 
the  same  pleasure  that  I  experienced  in  her  maltreatment 
of  me. 

"  All  my  sexual  fancies  were  built  upon  the  assumption 
of  a  woman  of  tyrannical  and  cruel  disposition,  to  whom 
I  wished  to  be  subject.  The  act  expressing  the  relation 
was  a  secondary  matter  to  me.  After  the  first  attempt  at 
an  impossible  realisation,  it  was  perfectly  clear  to  me 
whither  my  longings  really  drifted.  To  be  sure,  in  my 
lustful  dreams,  I  had  often  passed  beyond  all  ideas  of  abuse, 
and  conceived  a  commanding  woman,  with  an  imperious 
mien,  a  word  of  command,  a  kiss  on  the  foot,  etc. ;  but 
now  I  fully  reahsed  what  it  was  that  attracted  me,  and 
that  flagellation  was  only  the  strongest  means  of  express- 
ing the  principle,  and  in  itself  secondary,  without  value, 
even  painful  and  repulsive. 

"In  spite  of  this  disappointment,  after  the  first  step,  I 
did  not  abandon  my  efforts  to  realise  my  erotic  ideas.  I 
was  confident  that,  when  once  accustomed  to  the  new 
reality,  my  fancy  would  find  food  in  it  for  more  intense 
activity.  For'  my  purpose  I  sought  the  most  suitable 
women,  and  instructed  them  carefully  in  a  complicated 
comedy.  In  this  I  occasionally  found  that  the  way  had 
been  paved  for  me  by  predecessors  of  like  disposition.    The 


122  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

value  of  these  comedies,  lor  the  effect  of  my  fancy  on  my 
sensuality,  remained  problematical.  What  these  acts  and 
scenes  did  for  me,  in  the  way  of  intensifying  the  subsidiary 
circumstances  of  the  desired  situation,  caused  a  diminu- 
tion of  the  intensity  of  the  principal  element,  which  my 
unaided  fancy  without  the  consciousness  of  planned, 
coarse  deception,  could  more  easily  bring  up  before  me. 
My  physical  sensations,  under  the  various  punishments, 
were  changeable.  The  more  perfect  the  self-deception, 
the  nlore  perfectly  the  pain  was  felt  as  pleasure. 

"  Or,  more  correctly,  the  punishment  was  then  con- 
ceived as  a  symbolic  act.  From  this  arose  the  illusion  of 
the  desired  situation,  which  was  then  accompanied  by  an 
intense  psychical  feeling  of  pleasure.  Thus  the  perception 
of  the  painful  quality  of  the  punishment  was  overcome. 
The.  j)rocess  in  the  moral  punishments — the  humiliations 
to  which  I  subjected  myself — w-as  similar,  but  simpler  ; 
because  it  was  confined  to  the  mental  sphere.  These 
were  also  attended  with  pleasurable  feeling  when  the 
self-deception  succeeded.  It  was  seldom,  however,  that 
it  succeeded  well,  and  never  perfectly  ;  there  always  re- 
mained a  disturbing  element  in  consciousness.  Therefore, 
in  the  intervals,  I  returned  to  solitary  onanism.  Moreover, 
in  the  other  case,  the  conclusion  of  the  act  was  usually  an 
ejaculation  provoked  by  onanism  ;  often  an  ejaculation 
without  the  aid  of  mechanical  means. 

"  Thus  I  went  on  for  many  years,  with  diminishing 
power,  but  with  slightly  diminished  desire,  and  with  the 
power  of  my  peculiar  sexual  idea  over  me  unchanged. 
And  at  present  the  condition  of  my  vita  sexualis  is  the 
same.  Coitus,  which  I  have  never  performed,  still  seems 
to  me  a  strange  and  unclean  act.  I  learned  about  it  from 
descriptions  of  sexual  dissipations.  My  own  sexual  ideas 
seem  natural,  and  do  not  in  the  least  offend  my  sensitive 
taste.  Their  realisation,  as  previously  mentioned,  for 
various  reasons  leaves  me  unsatisfied.  I  am  pleased  with 
pretty  girls  and  women  of  respectability,  but  for  a  long 


MASOCHISM.  123 

time  T  have  ceased  to  approach  them.  I  have  never 
attained,  not  even  partially,  a  direct  actual  realisation  of 
my  sexual  fancy.  As  often  as  I  have  come  into  close 
relation  with  females,  I  have  felt  the  woman's  will  to 
be  beneath  mine,  never  vice  versd.  I  have  never  met  a 
woman  manifestin;:,^  a  desire  of  mastery  in  sexual  thinf^s. 
Women  who  wish  to  rule  in  the  houseliold,  and  exercise 
petticoat  sovereignty,  are  entirely  different  from  my 
erotic  ideals, 

"My  whole  personality  presents  many  abnormalities 
besides  the  perversion  of  my  vita  sexualis  ;  my  neuropathic 
condition  is  expressed  in  many  mental  and  physical 
symptoms.  Moreover,  I  think  I  recognise  in  myself  an 
original  abnormality  of  character  in  the  nature  of  a  re- 
semblance to  the  feminine  type ;  at  least,  I  regard  as  of 
this  nature  my  great  weakness  of  will,  and  my  great  lack 
of  courage  in  the  presence  of  men  and  animals,  which  is 
in  contrast  with  my  coolness  in  the  face  of  peril.  My 
external  appearance  is  entirely  masculine." 

The  author  of  this  autobiography  sends  a  further 
communication  : — 

"  I  always  sought  to  find  out  whether  the  pecuHar  ideas 
that  ruled  me  sexually  were  entertained  by  other  men. 
Ever  since  the  first  stories  about  it  accidcntly  reached 
my  ears,  I  have  sought  everywhere  to  learn  of  it.  As  it 
is  really  a  process  of  inner  consciousness,  it  is,  of  course, 
not  easy  to  identify  it,  and  it  cannot  always  be  done  with 
certainty  ;  but  I  assume  the  existence  of  masochism  where 
I  find  perverse  sexual  acts  that  cannot  be  explained  except 
by  this  dominating  idea.  I  look  upon  this  anomaly  as 
wide-spread. 

"  I  have  heard  many  stories  about  it  from  prostitutes 
here  in  Berfin,  and  in  Vienna;  and  I  thus  learned  how 
numerous  my  fellow-sufferers  are.  I  am  always  careful 
not  to  describe  my  own  experiences,  or  ask  whether  tliey 


124  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

know  of  such  ;  but  I  allow  these  persons  to  relate  thei, 
experiences  just  as  they  choose. 

"  Simple  flagellation  is  so  common  that  almost  every 
prostitute  is  familiar  with  it ;  but  cases  of  real  masochism 
are  very  frequent.  The  men,  subject  to  this  perversion, 
submit  themselves  to  the  most  refined  cruelties.  In  this 
they  always  act  the  same  farce  with  the  instructed  prosti- 
titutes — humiliating  subjection  of  the  man,  treading  upon 
him,  commands,  threats,  and  scoldings  that  have  been 
committed  to  memory  ;  then  flagellation,  blows  on  various 
portions  of  the  body,  and  all  kinds  of  punishment,  pricking 
with  needles,  etc.  The  scenes  often  end  with  coitus,  but 
more  frequently  with  ejaculation  without  it.  Twice  pros- 
titutes have  shown  me  heavy  iron  chains  with  handcuffs, 
which  their  patrons  had  made  for  their  own  use,  and  the 
dried  peas  on  which  they  kneeled,  the  seat  studded  with 
needles  on  which  they  sat  at  command,  and  many  other 
similar  things.  Often  the  perverted  man  wishes  the 
woman  to  tie  his  penis  so  tightly  as  to  cause  pain ;  to 
prick  it  with  needles,  make  cuts  in  it  with  a  knife,  or  beat 
it  with  a  stick.  Even  the  act  of  hanging  is  indulged  in, 
it  being  cut  short  at  just  the  right  moment.  Others  have 
themselves  scratched  with  a  knife  or  dagger,  but  in  the  act 
the  woman  must  threaten  him  with  death.  In  all  these 
things  the  symbolism  of  subjection  is  the  most  important 
factor.  The  woman  is  usually  called  '  mistress ' ;  the 
man,  *  slave '. 

"All  these  comedies  with  prostitutes,  which  to  the 
normal  man  appear  as  simple  madness,  are  to  the  ma- 
sochist  only  meagre  substitutes.  Whether  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  a  realisation  of  these  masochistic  dreams  in  love 
relations  or  not,  I  do  not  know.  If  it  occur,  it  is  certainly 
very  rare,  for  this  taste  in  women  (sadism  in  women,  as 
described  by  Sacher-Masoch)  is  very  difficult  to  find ;  be- 
sides, the  expression  of  sexual  abnormalities  finds  greater 
obstacles  in  the  modesty  of  women,  etc.,  than  in  men.  I 
mj'self  have  never  noticed  the  shghtest  indications  of  any- 


MASOCHISM.  125 

thing  of  this  kind,  and  have  never  been  able  to  attempt 
an  actual  realisation  of  my  fancies.  Once  a  man  con- 
fidingly told  me  of  his  masochistic  perversion,  and  said 
he  had  found  his  ideal." 

The  two  following  cases  are  similar  to  the  foregoing  : — 

Case  42.  Mr.  Z.,  aged  tv/enty-nine,  technologist,  came 
for  consultation  because  of  fear  of  tabes.  Father  was 
nervous  and  died  tabetic.  Father's  sister  was  insane. 
Several  relatives  are  very  nervous  and  peculiar.  On  closer 
examination  the  patient  was  found  to  have  sexual,  spinal 
and  cerebral  asthenia.  He  presented  no  symptoms  of  tabes 
dorsalis.  Questions  concerning  abuse  of  the  sexual  organs 
brought  out  a  confession  of  masturbation  practised  since 
youth.  In  the  course  of  the  examination  the  following 
interesting  psycho-sexual  anomalies  were  discovered  :  At 
the  age  of  five  the  vita  sexualis  began  with  the  impulse 
to  whip  himself,  as  well  as  with  the  desire  to  see  others 
whipped.  In  this  he  never  thought  of  individuals  as  of 
the  one  sex  or  the  other.  Faute  de  mieiix  he  practised 
flagellation  on  himself,  and,  in  time,  this  induced  ejacula- 
tion. Long  before  this  he  had  begun  to  satisfy  himself 
with  masturbation,  and  always  during  the  act  revelled  in 
imaginary  scenes  of  whipping.  After  growing  up  he  twice 
visited  brothels  to  have  himself  flogged  by  prostitutes. 
For  this  purpose  he  chose  the  prettiest  girl  he  could  find  ; 
but  he  was  disappointed,  and  did  not  even  have  an  erec- 
tion, to  say  nothing  of  ejaculation.  He  recognised  that 
the  flagellation  was  subsidiary,  and  that  the  idea  of 
subjection  to  the  woman's  will  was  the  important  thing. 
He  realised  this  on  the  second  trial.  When  he  had  the 
"  thought  of  subjection  "  he  was  perfectly  successful.  In 
time,  by  strannng  his  imagination  with  masochistic  idea,s, 
he  performed  coitus  without  flagellation ;  but  he  found 
little  satisfaction  in  it,  so  that  he  performed  sexual  in- 
tercourse in  a  masochistic  way.      He  found  pleasure  in 


126  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

masochistic  scenes,  in  the  sense  of  his  original  desire  for 
flagellation,  only  when  he  was  flagellated  ad  podicem, 
or,  at  least,  only  when  he  called  up  such  a  situation  in 
imagination.  At  times  of  great  excitability  it  was  even 
sufficient  if  he  told  stories  of  such  scenes  to  a  pretty  girl. 
He  would  thus  have  an  orgasm,  and  usually  ejaculation. 

A  very  efl'ectual  fetichistic  idea  was  early  associated 
with  this.  He  noticed  that  he  was  attracted  and  satisfied 
only  by  women  wearing  high  heels  and  short  jackets 
("Hungarian  fashion").  He  did  not  know  how  he 
arrived  at  this  fetichistic  idea.  Boys'  legs  with  high  heels 
also  pleased  him ;  but  this  charm  was  purely  aesthetic, 
without  any  sensual  colouring ;  and  he  said  he  had  never 
noticed  anything  homosexual  in  himself.  The  patient 
referred  his  fetichism  to  his  partiality  for  calves  (legs). 
He  was  charmed  by  ladies'  calves  only  when  elegant  shoes 
were  on  the  feet.  Nude  legs — feminine  nudity  in  general 
— did  not  in  the  least  affect  him  sexually.  A  subordin^ite 
fetichistic  idea  for  the  patient  was  the  human  ear.  It  was  a 
lustful  pleasure  for  him  to  caress  the  handsome  ears  of 
people.  With  men  this  pleasure  was  slight,  but  with 
women  it  gave  him  great  enjoyment. 

He  also  had  a  weakness  for  cats.  He  thought  them 
simply  beautiful,  and  their  movements  were  very  attractive 
to  him.  The  sight  of  a  cat  could  raise  him  from  a  feeling 
of  the  deepest  depression.  Cats  seemed  to  him  sacred  ;  he 
saw  something  divine  in  them  !  He  did  not  know  the 
reason  for  this  idiosyncrasy. 

Of  late  he  also  frequently  had  sadistic  ideas  about 
punishing  boys.  In  these  imaginary  flagellations  both 
men  and  women  played  a  part,  but  particularly  the  latter, 
and  then  his  enjoyment  was  much  more  intense. 

The  patient  found  that,  besides  what  he  recognised  and 
felt  as  masochism,  there  was  something  else  which  he 
preferred  to  designate  "  pageism  ". 

While  his  masochistic  fancies  and  acts  were  entirely  of 
a  coarse,  sensual  nature,  his  "  pageism  "  consisted  of  the 


MASOCHISM.  127 

idea  of  being  a  page  to  a  beautiful  girl.  His  conception 
was  perfectly  chaste,  but  piquant ;  his  relation  to  her  that 
of  a  slave,  but  absolutely  pure — a  mere  platonic  sub- 
mission. This  reveUing  in  the  idea  of  serving  such  a 
"  beautiful  creature  "  as  a  page  was  coloured  by  a  pleasur- 
able feeling,  but  this  was  in  no  way  sexual.  He  experienced 
in  it  an  exquisite  feeling  of  moral  satisfaction,  in  contrast 
with  sensually  coloured  masochism,  and  therefore  he  could 
l)ut  regard  it  as  something  of  a  different  nature. 

At  first  sight  there  was  nothing  remarkable  in  the 
patient's  appearance ;  but  his  pelvis  is  abnormally  broad, 
the  ilia  are  flat,  and  the  pelvis,  as  a  whole,  tilted  and 
decidedly  feminine.  Eyes,  neuropathic.  He  also  men- 
tioned that  he  often  had  itching  and  lustful  irritation  at 
the  anus,  and  that  there  ("  erogenous  "  area)  ope  digiti,  he 
could  satisfy  himself. 

The  patient  was  troubled  about  his  future.  Help  would 
be  possible  for  him  if  he  could  but  excite  in  himself  an 
interest  in  women,  but  his  will  and  imagination  were  too 
weak  for  that. 

What  the  patient  designated  as  "pageism"  does  not 
differ  in  any  way  from  masochism,  as  may  be  seen  when 
it  IS  compared  with  the  following  cases  of  symbolic 
masochism  and  others  ;  and,  further,  upon  the  considera- 
tion that  in  this  perversion  coitus  is  avoided  as  an 
inadequate  act,  and  from  the  fact  that  in  such  cases  there 
is  often  a  fantastic  exaltation  of  the  perverse  ideal : — 

Case  43.  Ideal  Masochism.  Mr.  X.,  technologist, twenty- 
six  years  old.  Mother  of  nervous  disposition  ;  suffers  from 
neuralgia.  In  the  father's  family  a  case  of  spinal  disease 
and  one  of  psychosis.  A  brother  suffers  from  nervous- 
ness. Mr.  X.  had  only  slight  infantile  affections  ,  he 
learned  easily  at  school,  and  developed  normally  He  is 
of  manly  appearance,  but  rather  weakly  and  under 
medium  size.      The  descent  of  the  right  testicle  ia  im- 


128  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

perfect,  but  may  be  noticed  in  the  inguinal  canal ;  penis 
is  normally  formed,  but  rather  small. 

At  the  age  of  five  he  felt  sexual  excitement  whilst 
swinging  on  the  cross-bar  with  legs  crossed,  and  stretched 
out  at  full  length.  He  repeated  the  exercise  several 
times,  but  forgot  about  the  sensation  until  he  grew  up  to 
maturer  age.  He  then  tried  to  induce  this  pleasurable 
feeling  by  repeating  the  exercise,  but  without  success. 

At  the  age  of  seven  he  took  part  in  a  general  fight 
between  the  pupils  of  the  school  which  he  attended,  after 
which  the  victors  rode  on  the  backs  of  the  vanquished. 
This  impressed  X.  considerably. 

He  thought  the  position  of  the  prostrate  boys  a  pleas- 
ant one,  wanted  to  put  himself  in  their  place,  imagining 
how  by  repeated  efforts  he  could  move  the  boy  on  his 
back  near  his  face  so  that  he  might  inhale  the  odour  of 
his  genitals.  These  thoughts,  coupled  with  pleasurable 
feehngs,  often  recurred  to  him  afterwards,  although  they 
never  occasioned  real  sensations  of  lust ;  in  fact,  he  con- 
sidered these  thoughts  sinful  and  bad,  and  sought  to 
repulse  them.  He  claims  to  have  had  no  knowledge  at 
that  time  of  sexual  matters.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
patient  up  to  his  twentieth  year  was  periodically  troubled 
with  eneuresis  nocturna. 

Up  to  the  time  of  puberty  these  masochistic  fancies 
to  lie  under  the  thighs  of  others,  boys  as  well  as  girls, 
recurred  periodically.  Now  the  objects  were  chiefly 
girls,  but  these  exclusively  when  puberty  was  completed. 
Little  by  little  these  situations  gained  a  different  mean- 
ing, for  soon  the  culminating  point  was  the  consciousness 
to  be  absolutely  subject  to  the  will  and  whims  of  a  fully 
developed  girl,  coupled  with  corresponding  humiliating 
acts  and  attitudes. 

For  instance,  X.  says  : — 

"I  am  lying  on  my  back  on  the  floor.  The  mistress 
stands  over  my  head  with  one  foot  on  my  breast,  or  she 
holds  my  head  between  her  teet  so  that  her  genitals  are 


MASOCHISM.  129 

directly  in  a  line  with  my  vision.  Or  she  sits  a-straddle 
on  my  chest  or  on  my  face,  using  my  body  as  a  table.  If 
I  do  not  obey  her  commands  promptly  she  locks  me  up 
in  a  dark  W.C.  and  leaves  the  house  to  find  pleasure 
elsewhere.  She  introduces  me  to  her  friends  as  her  slave 
and  turns  me  over  as  such  to  them  as  a  loan. 

"  She  makes  me  perform  the  lowest  menial  work,  wait 
upon  her  when  she  arises,  in  the  bath  et  inter  mictionem. 
At  times  she  uses  my  face  for  the  latter  purpose  and 
makes  me  drink  of  the  voidance." 

X.  claims  that  he  never  practically  put  these  ideas 
into  effect  for  fear  of  not  realising  tbe  anticipated  pleasure. 
Once  only  he  sneaked  into  the  room  of  a  pretty  house- 
maid ut  tcrinam  puellcB  bib  at  j    but  he  was  too  much  dis- 
gusted to  carry  out  the  purpose. 

He  states  that  he  fought  in  vain  against  these 
masochistic  impulses,  considering  them  of  a  painful  and 
disgusting  nature.  They  are  still  prevalent.  He  points 
out  particularly  that  the  humiliation  conn'ected  with  these 
imaginary  acts  is  the  principal  attraction,  and  that  the 
pleasure  derived  from  causing  pain  to  others  is  never 
associated  with  them. 

He  prefers  as  "mistress"  a  slender  maiden  of  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  with  a  pretty  face,  and  wearing  short 
light  dresses. 

The  ordinary  intercourse  with  young  women,  dancing, 
or  mixed  society,  never  impressed  him. 

With  the  period  of  puberty  these  masochistic  ideas 
were  at  times  accompanied  by  pollutions,  but  only  weak 
emotions  of  lust. 

At  one  time  the  patient  resorted  to  friction  of  the 
glafis  penis,  but  he  could  not  induce  erection,  much  less 
ejaculation,  and  instead  of  pleasure  he  produced  disagree- 
able paralytic  feelings.  This  saved  him  from  masturbation. 
But  after  the  age  of  twenty  he  often  experienced  lustful 
emotions  with  ejaculation  when  performing  gymnastic 
exercises  on  the  horizontal  bar,  or  when  climbing  poles 

9 


130  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

or  ropes.  He  never  had  a  desire  for  sexual  intercourse 
with  women  or  for  inverted  sexual  actions.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-six  a  friend  urged  him  to  coitus,  but  already  on 
the  way  to  the  house  "  anxiety,  restlessness,  and  decided 
disgust"  crept  over  him.  He  became  so  excited,  trembled 
all  over,  and  broke  out  into  a  profuse  perspiration,  that 
he  could  not  command  an  erection.  Kepeated  attempts 
proved  complete  failures,  but  he  was  able  to  control  his 
mental  and  physical  excitement  a  little  better  than  the 
first  time. 

Libido  was  never  present.  Masochistic  imaginations 
gave  no  assistance,  because  his  mental  faculties  at  such 
times  were  "as  if  paralysed,"  and  he  "  could  not  call 
up  those  intense  imaginary  representations  which  he 
found  necessary  for  an  erection".  Thus  he  gave  up  all 
attempts  at  coitus,  partly  because  libido  was  absent, 
and  partly  on  account  of  his  utter  want  of  confidence 
in  success.  Only  now  and  then  he  satisfied  his  weak 
sexual  desires  by  the  aid  of  gymnastic  exercises. 
Occasionally,  however,  spontaneous  or  superinduced 
masochistic  fancies  (when  awake)  would  cause  erection, 
but  never  ejaculation. 

Pollutions  occurred  at  periods  of  six  weeks. 

The  patient  is  highly  intellectual,  of  refined  manners, 
and  a  little  neurasthenic.  He  complains  that  when  in 
society  the  feeling  obtrudes  itself  constantly  that  he  is 
being  observed.  This  causes  him  worry  and  embarrass- 
ment, although  he  is  fully  aware  that  all  this  is  naught 
but  imagination.  He  loves  solitude,  for  fear  that  others 
might  find  out  his  sexual  abnormality. 

This  impotence  does  not  cause  him  pain,  for  he  has 
scarcely  any  desire.  Nevertheless  he  would  consider  the 
cure  of  his  vita  sextialis  a  great  boon,  since  so  much 
depends  upon  it  in  social  hfe,  and  he  would  be  more  self- 
possessed  and  manher  when  among  others. 

His  present  existence  he  considers  a  misery,  and  his 
life  a  burden. 


MASOCHISM.  131 

Case  44.  X.,man  of  letters, aged  twenty-eight, tainted. 
Sexually  hyperajsthetic  from  childhood.  At  the  age  of  six 
he  had  dreams  of  being  whipped  ad  nates  by  a  wonmn. 
Upon  awaking,  intense  lustful  excitement  ;  tlius  he  came 
to  practise  onanism.  When  eight  years  old  he  once  asked 
the  cook  to  whip  him.  From  his  tenth  year,  neuras- 
thenia. Until  his  twenty-fifth  year  he  had  dreams  of 
flagellation  or  similar  fancies  when  awake,  and  indulged 
in  onanism.  Three  years  ago  he  had  an  impulse  to  have 
himself  whipped  by  a  p^iella.  The  patient  was  dis- 
appointed, for  neither  erection  nor  ejaculation  occurred. 
At  twenty-seven,  another  effort,  with  the  thought  to 
enforce  erection  and  ejaculation.  This  was  finally  made 
possible  by  the  following  artifice:  While  coitus  was 
attempted  the  puella  had  to  tell  him  how  she  flogged 
mercilessly  other  impotent  men,  and  threaten  him  with 
the  same.  Besides  this,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  fancy 
that  he  was  bound,  entirely  in  the  woman's  power,  help- 
less, and  most  painfully  beaten  by  her.  Occasionally,  in 
order  to  become  potent,  it  was  necessary  to  have  himself 
actually  bound.  Thus  coitu&  was  possible.  Pollutions 
were  accompanied  by  lustful  feeling  only  when  he  (infre- 
quently) dreamed  that  he  was  abused,  or  that  he  looked 
on  while  one  puella  whipped  the  other.  He  never  had  a 
real  lustful  pleasure  in  coitus.  The  only  things  in  women 
that  interest  him  are  the  hands.  Powerful  women  with 
big  fists  are  his  preference.  At  the  same  time,  his  desire 
for  flagellation  is  only  ideal ;  for  with  his  great  cutaneous 
sensitiveness  at  the  most  a  few  strokes  are  sufficient. 
Blows  from  men  were  repugnant  to  him.  He  wishes  to 
marry.  From  the  impossibility  of  asking  a  decent  woman 
to  perform  flagellation  and  the  doubt  about  being  potent 
without  flagellation  spring  his  embarrassment  and  desire 
to  recover. 

In  three  of  the  foregoing  cases  for  the  most  part  passive 
flagellation  serves  him  that  is  subject  to  this  perversion  of 


132  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

masochism  as  an  expression  of  the  desired  situation  of 
subjection  to  the  woman.  The  same  means  is  needed  by 
a  large  number  of  masochists.  But  passive  flagellation  is 
a  process  which,  as  is  known,  has  a  tendency  to  induce 
erection  reflexly  by  irritation  of  the  nerves  of  the  buttocks.^ 
This  effect  of  flagellation  is  used  by  weakened  debauchees 
to  help  their  diminished  power;  and  this  perversity — not 
perversion — is  very  common.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to 
ascertain  in  what  relation  the  passive  flagellation  of  the 
masochists  stands  to  those  dissipated  individuals  who  are 
not  psychically  perverse,  but  physically  weakened. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  show  that  masochism  is  some- 
thing essentially  different  from  flagellation,  and  more 
comprehensive.  For  the  masochist  the  principal  thing 
is  subjection  to  the  woman ;  the  punishment  is  only  the 
expression  of  this  relation — the  most  intense  effect  of  it 
he  can  bring  upon  himself.  For  him  the  act  has  only  a 
symbohc  value,  and  is  a  means  to  the  end  of  mental  satis- 
faction of  his  peculiar  desires.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
individual  that  is  weakened  and  not  subject  to  masochism 
and  who  has  himself  flagellated,  desires  only  a  mechanical 
irritation  of  his  spinal  centre. 

Whether  in  a  given  case  it  is  simple  (reflex)  flagella- 
tion or  masochism  is  made  clear  by  the  individual's  state- 
ments, and  often  by  the  secondary  circumstances.  The 
determination  depends  upon  the  following  facts  : — 

In  the  first  place,  the  impulse  to  passive  flagellation 
exists  in  the  masochist  ah  origine.  The  desire  is  felt  before 
there  has  been  any  experience  of  the  reflex  effect,  often 
first  in  dreams,  as,  for  example,  in  case  46,  v.  infra. 
Secondly,  with  the  masochist,  as  a  rule,  flagellation  is  only 
one  of  many  and  various  punishments  which  come  into 
his  mind  as  fancies  and  are  often  realised.  In  these  other 
punishments  and  the  frequent  acts  expressing  purely  sym- 
bolic humiliations  which  occur  by  the  side  of  flagellation, 
there  can,  of  coarse,  be  no  thought  of  a  reflex  physical 

1  Cf.  supra,  Introduction,  p.  35. 


MASOCHISM.  183 

irritative  effect.  Thirdly,  it  is  significant  that,  in  the 
masochist  when  the  desired  flagellation  is  carried  out,  it 
need  have  no  aphrodisiac  effect  at  all.  Very  often,  indeed, 
there  is  a  more  or  less  defined  disappointment ;  in  fact, 
always,  if  the  masochist  is  not  successful  in  his  desire  to 
create  by  means  of  the  prearranged  programme  the  illu- 
sion of  the  desired  situation  (to  be  in  the  woman's  power), 
so  that  the  woman  ordered  to  carry  out  the  act  seems  to 
be  nothing  more  than  the  executive  agent  of  his  own  will. 
In  reference  to  this  important  point,  compare  the  three 
foregoing  cases  and  case  48. 

Between  masochism  and  simple  (reflex)  flagellation, 
there  is  a  relation  somewhat  analagous  to  that  existing 
between  contrary  sexual  instinct  and  acquired  pederasty. 
It  does  not  lessen  the  value  of  this  opinion  that,  in  the 
masochist,  the  flagellation  may  also  have  the  known  reflex 
effect ;  or  that  a  whipping  received  in  childhood  may  have 
aroused  lust  for  the  first  time,  and  thus  simultaneously 
excited  the  latent  masochistically  constituted  vita  sexualis. 
In  this  event,  the  case  must  be  characterised  by  the  con- 
ditions mentioned  above  under  the  heads  of  ''secondly" 
and  "  thirdly,"  in  order  to  be  masochistic.  If  the  details 
of  the  origin  of  the  case  are  not  known,  other  circum- 
stances, such  as  those  mentioned  above  under  "  secondly  " 
would  make  it  clearly  masochistic.  This  is  illustrated  in 
the  following  two  cases  : — 

Case  45.  A  patient  of  Tamoivsky' s  had  a  person  in 
his  confidence  rent  a  house  during  his  attacks,  and  instruct 
its  perso7mel  (three  prostitutes)  in  what  was  to  be  done 
with  him.  Whenever  he  came  there  he  was  undressed, 
manustuprated,  and  flagellated  as  ordered.  He  pretended 
to  offer  resistance,  and  begged  for  mercy;  then,  as 
ordered,  he  was  allowed  to  eat  and  sleep.  But  in  spite 
of  protest  he  was  kept  there,  and  beaten  if  he  did  not  sub- 
mit. Thus  the  affair  would  go  on  for  some  days.  When 
the  attack  was  over  he  was  dismissed,  and  he  returned  to 


134  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

his  wife  and  children,  who  had  no  suspicion  of  his  disease. 
The  attacks  occurred  once  or  twice  a  year  (Taniowshy , 
op.  cit.). 

Case  46.  X.,  aged  thirty-four,  greatly  predisposed, 
suffers  with  antipathic  sexual  instinct.  For  various  rea- 
sons he  had  no  opportunity  to  satisfy  himself  with  men, 
in  spite  of  great  sexual  desire.  Occasionally  he  dreamed 
that  a  woman  whipped  him,  and  then  had  a  pollution. 

Through  this  dream  he  came  to  have  prostitutes  beat 
him  as  a  substitute  for  love  with  men.  Occasionally  he 
would  obtain  a  prostitute,  undress  himself  completely 
(while  she  was  not  to  take  off  her  chemise),  and  have  her 
tread  upon  him,  whip  and  beat  him.  Qua  re  summa 
libidine  affectus  j^cdem  femincz  lambit  quod  solum  eum  lihidino- 
siim  facer e  potest :  turn  ejaculationem  assequitur.  Then  dis- 
gust at  the  morally  debasing  situation  occurred,  and  he 
retired  as  quickly  as  possible. 

Cases  occur,  however,  in  which  passive  flagellation 
alone  constitutes  the  entire  content  of  the  masochistic 
fancies,  without  other  ideas  of  humiliation,  etc.,  and 
without  well-defined  consciousness  of  the  real  nature  of 
this  expression  of  submission.  Such  cases  are  difficult  to 
differentiate  from  those  of  simple  reflex  flagellation.  A 
knowledge  of  the  primary  origin  of  the  desire,  before  any 
experience  of  reflex  stimuli  {v.  supra,  under  ''first"),  is  the 
only  thing  that  renders  the  differential  diagnosis  certain, 
if  weighed  with  the  circumstance  that  genuine  masochists 
are  perverse  from  early  youth,  and  that  the  realisation  of 
their  desires  is  scarcely  ever  accomplished  or  proves  a 
disappointment  {v.  sitjjra,  under  '"  thirdly  ")  ;  for  the  whole 
thing  chiefly  belongs  to  the  realm  of  imagination. 

The  following  is  a  case  of  typical  masochism  in  which 
the  whole  circle  of  ideas  peculiar  to  this  perversion 
appears  completely  developed.  This  case,  in  which  there 
is  a  detailed  personal  description  of  the  whole  psychical 


MASOCHISM.  135 

state,  is  different  from  case  41  only  in  that  there  is  here 
no  thought  of  a  reahsation  of  the  perverse  fancies,  and 
that,  notwithstanding  the  perversion  of  the  vita  sexualis, 
normal  stimuli  are  so  far  effectual  that  sexual  intercourse 
is  really  possible  under  normal  conditions. 

Case  47.  "I  am  thirty-five  years  old,  mentally  and 
physically  normal.  Among  all  my  relatives,  in  the  direct 
as  well  as  in  the  lateral  line,  I  know  of  no  case  of  mental 
disorder.  My  father,  who  at  my  birth  was  thirty  years 
old,  as  far  as  I  know  had  a  preference  for  voluptuous,  large 
women. 

"  Eveji  in  my  early  childhood  I  loved  to  revel  in  ideas 
about  the  absolute  mastery  of  one  man  over  others.  The 
thought  of  slavery  had  something  exciting  in  it  for  me, 
ahke  whether  from  the  standpoint  of  master  or  servant. 
That  one  man  could  possess,  sell  or  whip  another,  caused  me 
intense  excitement ;  and  in  reading  '  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  ' 
(which  I  read  at  about  the  beginning  of  puberty)  I  had 
erections.  Particularly  exciting  for  me  was  the  thought 
of  a  man  being  hitched  up  to  a  waggon  in  which  another 
man  sat  with  a  whip,  driving  and  whipping  him.  Until 
my  twentieth  year  these  ideas  were  purely  objective  and 
sexless — i.e.,  the  one  in  subjugation  in  my  fancy  was 
another  (not  myself),  and  the  master  was  not  necessarily  a 
woman.  These  ideas  were,  therefore,  without  effect  on  my 
sexual  desires — i.e.,  on  the  way  in  which  they  took  practi- 
cal shape.  Although  these  ideas  caused  erections,  yet  I 
have  never  masturbated  in  my  life,  and  from  my  nine- 
teenth year  I  had  coitus  without  the  help  of  these  ideas 
and  without  any  relation  to  them.  I  always  had  a  great 
preference  for  elderly,  voluptuous,  large  women,  though  I 
did  not  scorn  younger  ones. 

"  After  my  twenty-first  year  myideas  became  objective, 
and  it  became  an  essential  thing  that  the  '  mistress ' 
should  be  a  woman  over  forty  years  old,  tall  and  power- 
ful.    From  this  tirne  I  was  always  in  my  fancies  the  subject : 


136  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

the  'mistress'  was  a  rough  woman,  who  made  use  of 
me  in  every  way,  also  sexually ;  who  harnessed  me  before 
a  carriage  and  made  me  take  her  for  a  drive,  whom  I 
must  follow  like  a  dog,  at  whose  feet  I  must  lie  naked 
and  be  punished — i.e.,  whipped — by  her.  This  was  the 
constant  element  in  my  ideas,  around  which  all  others 
were  grouped.  In  these  fancies  I  always  found  endless 
pleasurable  comfort  which  caused  erection,  but  never 
ejaculation.  As  a  result  of  the  induced  sexual  excitement, 
I  would  immediately  seek  a  woman,  preferably  one  corre- 
sponding exteriorly  with  my  ideal,  and  have  coitus  with 
her  without  any  actual  aid  of  my  fancies,  and  some- 
times also  without  any  thought  of  them  during  the  act. 
I  had,  however,  also  inclination  toward  women  of  a 
different  kind,  and  had  coitus  with  them  without  being 
impelled  to  it  by  my  fancy, 

"  Notwithstanding  all  this,  my  life  was  not  exceedingly 
abnormal  sexually  ;  yet  these  ideas  were  certain  to  occur 
periodically,  and  they  have  remained  essentially  un- 
changed. With  growing  sexual  desire,  the  intervals 
constantly  grew  shorter.  At  the  present  time  the  attacks 
come  every  two  or  three  weeks.  If  I  previously  were  to 
have  coitus,  the  occurrence  of  the  fancies  would,  perhaps, 
be  postponed.  I  have  never  attempted  to  realise  my  very 
definite  and  characteristic  ideas — i.e.,  to  connect  them 
with  the  world  without  me — but  I  have  contented  myself 
with  reveUing  in  the  thoughts,  because  I  was  convinced 
that  my  ideal  would  not  allow  even  an  approach  to 
realisation.  The  thought  of  a  comedy  with  paid  pros- 
titutes always  seemed  so  silly  and  purposeless,  for  a  person 
hired  by  me  could  never  take  the  place  in  my  imagi))ation 
of  a  'cruel  mistress'.  I  doubt  whether  there  are  sadis- 
tically constituted .  women  like  Sacher-Masoch's  heroines. 
But,  if  there  were  such  women,  and  I  had  the  fortune  (!) 
to  find"  one,  still,  in  a  world  of  reality,  intercourse  with  her 
would  ever  seem  only  a  farce  to  me.  Indeed,  I  can  say 
that,  were  I  to  become  the  slave  of  a  Messalina,  I  believe 


MASOCHISM.  137 

that  owing  to  the  other  necessary  renunciations  my  desired 
manner  of  hfe  would  soon  pall  on  me,  and  in  my  lucid 
intervals  I  should  make  every  effort  to  obtain  my  freedom 
at  all  hazards. 

"Yet  I  have  found  a  way  in  which  to  induce,  in  a 
certain  sense,  a  realisation.  After  my  sexual  desire  has 
been  intensely  excited  by  revelling  in  my  fancy,  I  go  to  a 
prostitute  and  there  call  up  before  my  mind's  eye  with 
great  intensity  some  scene  of  the  kind  mentioned,  in 
which  I  play  the  principal  role  After  thinking  of  such 
a  situation  for  about  half  an  hour,  with  a  constantly  re- 
sulting erection,  I  perform  coitus  with  increased  lustful 
pleasure  and  strong  ejaculation.  After  the  latter,  the 
vision  fades  away.  Ashamed,  I  depart  as  quickly  as 
possible,  and  try  not  to  think  of  the  affair.  Then  for 
about  two  weeks  I  have  no  more  such  ideas  ;  indeed,  after 
a  particularly  satisfactory  coitus,  it  may  happen  that  until 
the  next  attack  I  have  not  even  any  sympathy  whatever 
with  masochistic  ideas.  But  the  next  attack  is  sure  to 
come  sooner  or  later.  I  must,  however,  state  that  I  also 
have  coitus  without  being  prepared  by  such  ideas,  especi- 
ally, too,  with  women  that  are  acquainted  with  me  and  my 
position,  and  in  whose  presence  I  abhor  such  fancies. 
Under  the  latter  circumstances,  hoiuever,  I  am  not  ahoays  potent, 
while,  with  masochistic  ideas,  my  virility  is  perfect.  It  does  not 
seem  superfluous  to  add  that  otherwise  in  my  thought 
and  feeling  I  am  very  aesthetic,  and  despise  anything  like 
maltreatment  of  a  human  being.  Finally,  I  will  not 
leave  unmentioned  the  fact  that  the  form  of  address  is  of 
importance.  In  my  fancies  it  is  essential  that  the  '  nu's- 
tress '  address  me  in  the  second  person  {Du),  while  I 
must  address  her  in  the  third  {Sie).  This  circumstance 
of  being  thus  familiarly  addressed  {Du)  by  a  person  so  m- 
cHned,  as  the  expression  of  absolute  mastery,  has  from 
my  youth  given  me  lustful  pleasure,  and  does  to-day. 

"  I  had  the  fortune  to  find  a  wife  who  is  in  everything, 
but  especially  sexually,  attractive   to  mc;  though,  as  I 


138  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

scarcely  need  say,  she  in  no  way  resembles  my  masochistic 
ideals.  She  is  gentle,  but  voluptuous,  for  without  the 
latter  characteristic  I  cannot  conceive  such  a  thing  as 
sexual  charm.  The  first  few  months  of  married  life  were 
normal  sexually ;  the  masochistic  attacks  did  not  occur, 
and  I  had  almost  lost  all  thought  of  masochism  Then 
came  the  first  confinement  and  the  necessary  abstinence. 
Punctually,  then,  with  the  occurrence  of  libido  came  the 
masochistic  fancies  again,  which,  in  spite  of  my  great  love 
for  my  wife,  necessitated  coitus  with  another,  with  the 
accompaniment  of  masochistic  ideas.  It  is  here  worthy 
of  note  that  coitus  maritalis,  which  was  later  resumed,  did 
not  prove  sufficient  to  banish  the  masochistic  ideas,  as 
masochistic  coitus  always  does.  As  for  the  essential 
element  in  masochism,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  ideas 
— i.e.,  the  mental  element — are  the  end  and  aim. 

"  If  the  realisation  of  the  masochistic  ideas  {i.e.,  passive 
flagellation,  etc,")  be  the  desired  end,  then  it  is  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  masochists  never 
attempt  realisation  ;  or  when  this  is  attempted  great 
disappointment  occurs,  or  at  any  rate  the  desired  satis- 
tion  is  not  obtained. 

"  Finally,  I  should  mention  that,  according  to  my 
experience,  the  number  of  masochists,  especially  in  large 
cities,  seems  to  be  quite  large.  The  only  sources  of  such 
information  are — since  men  do  not  reveal  these  things — 
statements  by  prostitutes,  and  since  they  agree  on  the 
essential  points,  certain  facts  may  be  assumed  as  proved. 

"  Thus  there  is  the  fact  that  every  experienced  prosti- 
tute keeps  some  suitable  instrument  (usually  a  whip)  for 
flagellation,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  are 
men  who  have  themselves  whipped  simply  to  increase 
their  sexual  pleasure.  These,  in  contrast  with  masochists, 
regard  flagellation  as  a  means  to  an  end. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  almost  all  prostitutes  agree  that 
there  are  many  men  who  hke  to  play  'slave' — i.e.,  like 
to  be  so  called,  and  have  themselves  scolded  and  trod  upon 


MASOCHISM.  139 

and  beaten.     As  has  been  said,  the  number  of  masochists 
is  larger  than  has  yet  been  dreamed. 

"  A.S  you  can  imagine,  your  chapter  on  this  subject 
has  made  a  deep  impression  on  me.  I  should  like  to 
have  faith  in  a  cure,  in  a  logical  cure,  so  to  speak,  in 
accordance  with  the  motto  :  '  Tout  comprendre  c'est  tout 
guerir  '. 

"  Of  course  the  word  cure  is  to  be  taken  with  some 
limitation,  and  there  must  be  a  distinction  made  between 
general  feelings  and  concrete  ideas.  The  former  can  never 
be  removed  ;  they  come  like  a  streak  of  lightning,  are 
there,  and  one  does  not  know  whence  or  how. 

"  But  the  practice  of  masochism  in  imagination  by 
means  of  concrete  associated  ideas  can  be  avoided,  or  at 
least  restricted. 

"  Now  the  thing  is  changed.  I  say  to  myself  :  What ! 
you  busy  your  mind  with  things  which  not  only  the  assthetic 
sense  of  others,  but  also  your  own,  disapproves?  You 
regard  that  as  beautiful  and  desirable  which,  in  your  own 
judgment,  is  at  once  ugly,  coarse,  silly,  and  impossible  ? 
You  long  for  a  situation  which  in  reality  you  can  never 
obtain  ?  This  opposing  idea  has  an  immediate  inhibitory 
and  undeceiving  effect,  and  breaks  the  point  of  the  fancy. 
In  fact,  since  reading  your  book  (early  this  year)  I  have 
actually  not  revelled  in  my  fancy  once,  though  the 
masochistic  tendencies  have  recurred  at  regular  intervals. 
"  I  must  also  confess  that,  in  spite  of  its  marked  patho- 
logical character,  masochism  is  not  only  incapable  of 
destroying  my  pleasure  in  life,  but  it  does  not  in  the  least 
affect  my  outward  life.  When  not  in  a  masochistic  state, 
as  far  as  feeling  and  action  are  concerned,  I  am  a  perfectly 
normal  man.  During  the  activity  of  the  masochistic 
tendencies  there  is,  of  course,  a  great  revolution  in  my 
feeling,  but  my  outward  manner  of  life  suCfers  no  change ; 
I  have  a  calling  that  makes  it  necessary  for  me  to  move 
much  in  public,  and  I  pursue  it  in  the  masochistic  con- 
dition as  well  as  ever." 


140  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

The  author  of  the  foregoing  lines  also  sends  me  the 
following  notes  : — 

I.  "Masochism,  according  to  my  experience,  is  under 
all  circumstances  congenital,  and  never  acquired  by  the 
individual.  I  know  positively  that  I  teas  never  sjMnked  ;  that 
my  masochistic  ideas  were  manifested  from  my  earliest 
youth,  and  that,  as  long  as  I  have  been  capable  of  think^ 
ing,  I  have  had  such  thoughts.  If  the  origin  of  them  had 
been  the  result  of  a  particular  event,  especially  of  a 
beating,  I  should  certainly  not  have  forgotten  it.  It  is 
characteristic  that  the  ideas  were  present  before  there  was  any 
libido.  At  that  time  the  ideas  were  absolutely  sexless.  I 
remember  that  when  a  boy  it  affected  (not  to  say  excited) 
me  intensely  when  an  older  boy  addressed  me  in  the 
second  person  {Du)  while  I  spoke  to  him  in  the  third 
{Sie).  I  would  keep  up  a  conversation  with  him  and  have 
this  exchange  of  address  {Du  and  Sie)  take  place  as  often 
as  possible.  Later,  when  I  had  become  more  mature 
sexually,  such  things  affected  me  only  when  they  occurred 
with  a  woman,  and  one  relatively  older  than  myself. 

II.  "  Physically  and  mentally  I  am  in  all  respects  mas- 
culine. I  have  a  superabundant  growth  of  beard,  and  my 
whole  body  is  very  hairy.  In  my  relations  to  the  female 
sex  that  are  not  masochistic  the  dominating  position  of 
the  man  is  an  indispensable  condition,  and  any  attempt  to 
change  it  would  meet  with  my  energetic  opposition.  I 
am  energetic,  if  not  over-courageous ;  but  the  want  of 
courage  is  not  manifest  when  my  pride  is  injured.  I  am 
not  sensitive  to  events  in  nature  (thunder  storms,  storms 
at  sea,  etc.).-^ 

"  Again,  my  masochistic  tendencies  have  nothing  femi- 
nine or  effeminate  about  them  (?).     To  be  sure,  in  these, 

1  This  difference  of  courage  in  the  face  of  events  in  nature,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  in  the  face  of  conflict  with  will-power,  on  the  other,  is  certainly 
remarkable  (c/.  case  41,  p.  117),  oven  though  it  is  the  only  indication  of 
eSeminacy  apparent  in  this  case. 


MASOCHISM.  141 

the  inclination  to  be  sought  and  desired  by  the  woman  is 
dominant ;  but  the  general  relation  desired  with  her  is 
not  that  in  which  a  woman  stands  to  a  man,  but  that  of 
the  slave  to  the  master,  the  domestic  animal  to  its  owner. 
If  one  regards  the  ultimate  aim  of  masochism  without 
prejudice,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  its  ideal  is  the 
position  of  a  dog  or  horse.  Both  are  owned  by  masters 
and  punished  by  them,  and  the  masters  are  responsible  to 
no  one.  Just  this  unlimited  power  of  life  and  death,  as 
exercised  over  slaves  and  domestic  animals,  is  the  aim  and 
end  of  all  masochistic  ideas. 

III.  "  The  foundation  of  all  masochistic  ideas  is  libido, 
and  as  this  ebbs  and  flows,  so  do  the  masochistic  fancies. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  soon  as  the  ideas  are  present,  they 
greatly  intensify  the  libido.  I  am  not  by  nature  exces- 
sively sensual.  However,  when  the  masochistic  ideas 
occur  I  am  impelled  to  coitus  at  any  cost  (for  the  most 
part  I  am  driven  to  the  lowest  women)  ;  and  if  these 
impulses  are  not  soon  obeyed,  libido  soon  becomes  almost 
satyriasis.  One  is  almost  justified  in  looking  upon  this  as 
a  circulus  vitiostcs. 

"  Libido  occurs  either  in  the  course  of  time  or  as  the 
result  of  especial  excitement  (also  of  a  kind  that  is  not 
masochistic — e.g.,  kissing).  In  spite  of  its  manner  of  origin, 
this  libido,  by  virtue  of  the  masochistic  ideas  it  engenders, 
is  soon  transformed  into  a  masochistic  and  impure  libido. 

"  Moreover,  there  is  no  doubt  that  external  accidental 
impressions,  particularly  loitering  in  the  streets  of  a 
large  city,  greatly  intensify  the  desire.  The  sight  of 
beautiful  and  imposing  female  forms,  in  nature  as  well  as 
in  art,  is  exciting.  For  those  subject  to  masochism — at 
least  during  the  attacks — the  whole  external  world  be- 
comes masochistic.  The  box  on  the  ear  administered  by 
the  teacher  to  the  pupil  and  the  crack  of  the  driver's  whip 
make  deep  impressions  on  the  masochist,  while  they  leave 
him  indifferent  or  annoy  him  when  he  is  not  in  the  maso- 
chistic state. 


142  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

IV.  "  In  reading  Sacher-Masoch  it  struck  me  that  in 
masochists  now  and  then  there  was  also  an  undercurrent 
of  sadistic  feeling.  I  have  now  and  then  discovered  in 
myself  sporadic  feelings  of  sadism.  I  must  remark,  how- 
ever, that  the  sadistic  feelings  are  not  so  marked  as  the 
masochistic.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  they  appear  but 
seldom,  and  then  only  in  a  manner  as  accessories,  these 
sadistic  fancies  never  leave  the  sphere  of  abstract  feeling, 
and,  above  all,  never  take  the  form  of  concrete,  connected 
ideas.  The  effect  on  libido,  however,  is  the  same  with 
both." 

If  this  case  is  remarkable  on  account  of  the  complete 
development  of  the  psychical  state  which  constitutes 
masochism,  the  following  is  noteworthy  because  of  the 
great  extravagance  of  the  acts  resulting  from  perversion. 
The  case  is  also  particularly  suited  to  make  clear  the 
reason  for  the  subjection  and  humiliation  at  the  hands  of 
the  woman,  and  the  peculiar  sexual  colouring  of  the 
resulting  situations : — 

Case  48.  Mr.  Z.,  official,  aged  fifty  ;  tall,  muscular, 
healthy.  He  is  said  to  come  of  healthy  parentage,  but 
his  father  was  thirty  years  older  than  his  mother.  A 
sister,  two  years  older  than  Z.,  suffers  with  delusions  of 
persecution.  There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  Z.'s  external 
appearance.  Skeleton  entirely  masculine  ;  abundant  beard, 
but  no  hair  on  trunk.  He  characterises  himself  as  a  man 
of  sanguine  temperament,  who  cannot  refuse  others  any- 
thing ;  though  irascible  and  quick-tempered,  he  is  quick 
to  regret  outbursts. 

Z.  says  that  he  has  never  masturbated.  From  his 
youth  there  have  been  nightly  pollutions,  in  which  girls 
play  a  part,  but  the  sexual  act  never.  For  example,  he 
dreams  that  a  pleasing  woman  lies  heavily  on  him,  or  that 
as  he  lies  sleeping  on  the  grass  she  playfully  walks  up  his 
back.     Z.  had  always  been  averse  to  coitus  with  women. 


MASOCHISM.  143 

This  act  seemed  bestial  to  him.  Nevertheless,  he  was 
drawn  to  women.  It  was  only  in  the  society  of  beautiful 
women  and  girls  that  he  felt  well  and  in  his  place.  He 
was  very  gallant,  without  being  forward. 

A  voluptuous  woman  of  beautiful  form,  and  particu- 
larly with  a  pretty  foot,  when  seated,  had  the  power  to 
throw  him  into  intense  excitement.  He  was  impelled  to 
offer  himself  as  a  chair,  in  order  "  to  support  such  grand 
beauty  ".  A  kick,  a  box  on  the  ear  from  her,  would  be 
heaven  to  him.  He  had  a  horror  at  the  thought  of  coitus 
with  her.  He  felt  the  need  to  serve  woman.  He  thought 
how  much  ladies  liked  to  ride.  He  revelled  in  the  thought 
how  fine  it  would  be  to  be  wearied  by  the  burden  of  a 
beautiful  woman  in  order  to  give  her  pleasure.  He  painted 
the  situation  in  all  colours  ;  thought  of  the  beautiful  foot 
armed  with  spurs,  the  beautiful  calves,  the  soft,  full 
thighs.  Every  beautiful  mature  woman,  every  pretty 
female  foot,  always  excited  his  imagination  ;  but  he  never 
betrayed  the  peculiar  feelings  that  seemed  to  him  abnor- 
mal, and  was  able  to  control  himself.  But  he  felt  no  need 
to  fight  against  them ;  on  the  contrary,  it  would  have 
grieved  him  to  be  compelled  to  give  up  the  feelings  that 
had  become  so  dear  to  him. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-two  Z.  happened  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  an  attractive  woman,  aged  twenty-seven, 
who  had  been  separated  from  her  husband,  and  whom 
he  found  in  need.  He  took  her  and  worked  for  her  with- 
out any  selfish  motive,  for  months.  One  evening  she 
impatiently  demanded  sexual  satisfaction  from  him,  and 
almost  used  violence.  Coitus  was  successful.  Z.  took 
the  woman,  hved  with  her,  and  indulged  in  coitus  moder- 
ately, but  coitus  was  more  a  burden  than  a  pleasure ; 
erections  became  weak,  and  he  could  no  longer  satisfy  the 
woman.  She  finally  declared  that  she  would  not  have 
intercourse  with  him,  because  he  only  excited  without 
satisfying  her.  Though  he  loved  the  woman  very  much, 
he  could  not  give  up  his  peculiar  fancies.     After  this  he 


144  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

lived  with  her  only  in  friendly  relations,  and  deeply  re- 
gretted that  he  could  not  serve  her  in  the  way  she  desired. 
Fear  of  how  she  would  receive  his  propositions  and  a 
feeling  of  shame  kept  him  from  confessing.  He  found  a 
substitute  in  his  dreams.  Thus,  for  example,  he  dreamed 
that  he  was  a  proud,  fiery  steed,  ridden  by  a  beautiful 
lady.  He  felt  her  weight,  the  bit  he  had  to  obey,  the 
pressure  of  the  thighs  on  his  flanks ;  he  heard  her 
beautiful,  joyous  voice.  The  exertion  threw  him  into  a 
perspiration,  the  touch  of  the  spurs  did  the  rest,  and 
always  induced  pollution  with  great  lustful  pleasure. 
Under  the  influence  of  such  dreams,  seven  years  ago  Z. 
overcame  his  reluctance,  in  order  to  experience  such 
things  in  reality.  He  was  successful  in  creating  suitable 
opportunity.  He  speaks  of  it  as  follows:  "I  knew  how 
to  arrange  it  so  that  on  an  occasion  she  would  of  her  own 
will  seat  herself  on  my  back.  Then  I  endeavoured  to 
make  this  situation  as  pleasant  as  possible,  and  easily 
arranged  it  so  that  on  the  next  occasion  she  said  spon- 
taneously, '  Come,  give  me  a  little  ride !  '  Being  of  tall 
stature,  both  hands  braced  on  a  chair,  I  made  my  back 
horizontal,  and  she  mounted  astride,  after  the  manner  of 
a  man.  I  then  did  the  best  I  could  to  imitate  the  move- 
ments of  a  horse,  and  loved  to  have  her  treat  me  like 
a  horse,  without  consideration.  She  could  beat,  prick, 
scold,  or  caress  me,  just  as  she  felt  inclined.  I  could 
carry  on  my  back  persons  weighing  from  sixty  to  eighty 
kilos,  for  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  without  inter- 
ruption. At  the  end  of  this  time  I  usually  asked  for  a 
rest.  During  this  the  intercourse  between  the  mistress 
and  me  was  perfectly  harmless,  and  without  any  relation 
to  what  had  preceded.  After  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
I  was  rested  and  placed  myself  again  at  the  disposal  of 
the  mistress.  When  time  and  circumstances  allowed  it, 
I  did  this  three  or  four  times  in  succession.  It  sometimes 
happened  that  I  practised  it  both  in  the  morning  and 
afternoon      After  it  I  never  felt  weary  or  had  uncomfort- 


MASOCHISM.  145 

able  feelings,  but  on  such  days  I  had  very  Httle  appetite. 
When  possible,  I  liked  best  to  bare  my  trunk,  that  I  might 
feel  the  riding- whip  more  sharply.  The  mistress  had  to 
be  decent.  I  liked  her  best  in  pretty  shoes  and  stockings, 
with  short  closed  drawers  reaching  to  the  knee  ;  with  the 
upper  portion  of  her  person  completely  dressed,  and  with 
hat  and  gloves." 

Mr.  Z.  further  says  that  he  has  not  performed  coitus 
in  seven  years,  but  he  thinks  he  is  potent.  The  riding 
was  a  perfect  substitute  for  that  "bestial  act,"  even  when 
ejaculation  was  not  induced. 

For  eight  months  Z.  had  determined  to  give  up  his 
masochistic  play,  and  had  kept  his  determination.  But 
he  thought  that  if  a  woman  only  moderately  pretty  were  to 
address  him  directly  and  say,  "  Come,  I  want  to  ride  you," 
he  would  not  be  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  tempta- 
tion. Z.  wishes  to  know  whether  his  abnormahty  is 
curable,  whether  he  is  unworthy  as  a  vicious  man,  or  an 
invalid  deserving  pity.^ 

Even  in  the  foregoing  series  of  cases,  with  other  things, 
the  act  of  being  walked  upon  has  played  a  role  as  a  means 
of  expressing  the  masochistic  situations  of  humiliation  and 
pain.  The  exclusive  and  most  extensive  use  of  this  means 
for  perverse  excitation  and  satisfaction,  which  has  caused 
me  to  arrange  a  special  group,  because  it  forms  the  tran- 
sition to  another  kind  of  perversion  (vide  infra  (&),  p.  159) 
is  shown  in  the  following  classical  case  of  masochism, 
reported  by  Hamvwnd  (op.  cit.,  p.  28)  from  an  observation 
by  Dr.  Cox  ^  of  Colorado  : — 

Case  49.    X.,  a  model  husl)and,  very  moral,  the  father 
of  several  children,  has  times — i.e.,  attacks— in  which  he 

A  similar  case  is  related  in  the  eighth  edition  (German)  of  this  book. 
Cf.  there  case  51. 

2  "  Transactions  of  the  Colorado  State  Medical  Society,"  quoted  in  the 
"  Alienist  and  Neurologist,"  April,  1883,  p.  345. 

10 


146  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

visits  brothels,  chooses  two  or  three  of  the  largest  girls, 
and  shuts  himself  up  with  them.  He  bares  the  upper 
portion  of  his  body,  hes  down  on  the  floor,  crosses  his 
hands  on  his  abdomen,' closes  his  eyes,  and  then  has  the 
girls  walk  over  his  naked  breast,  neck  and  face,  urging 
them  at  every  step  to  press  hard  on  his  flesh  with  the 
heels  of  their  shoes.  Sometimes  he  wants  a  heavier  girl, 
or  some  other  act  still  more  cruel  than  this  procedure. 
After  two  or  three  hours  he  has  enough.  He  pays 
the  girls  with  wine  and  money,  rubs  his  blue  bruises, 
dresses  himself,  pays  his  bill,  and  goes  back  to  his  busi- 
ness, only  to  give  himself  the  same  strange  pleasure  again 
after  a  few  weeks. 

Occasionally  it  happens  that  he  has  one  of  the  girls 
stand  on  his  breast,  and  the  others  then  turn  her  around 
until  his  skin  is  torn  and  bleeding  from  the  turning  of  the 
heels  of  her  shoes.  Frequently  one  of  the  girls  has  to 
stand  on  him  in  such  a  way  that  one  shoe  is  over  the  eyes, 
with  its  heel  pressing  on  one  eye,  while  the  other  shoe 
rests  across  his  neck.  In  this  position  he  endures  the 
pressure  of  a  person  weighing  about  150  pounds  for  four  or 
five  minutes.  The  author  speaks  of  dozens  of  similar  cases  that 
are  knoivn  to  him.  Hammond  presumes,  with  reason,  that  this 
man  had  become  impotent  for  intercourse  with  women ; 
that  in  this  strange  procedure  he  found  an  equivalent  for 
coitus ;  and  that,  when  the  heels  drew  blood,  he  had 
pleasant  sexual  feehngs,  accompanied  by  ejaculations. 

The  cases  of  masochism  thus  far  described,  and  the 
numerous  analogous  cases  mentioned  by  those  who  report 
them,  form  a  counterpart  to  the  previously  described 
Group  "c"  of  sadism.  Just  as  in  sadism  men  excite 
and  satisfy  themselves  by  maltreating  women,  so  in  maso- 
chism the  same  effect  is  sought  in  the  passive  reception 
of  similar  abuse.^      But  Group  "a"  of  the  sadists — that 

1  Instructive  instances  are  given  by  Seydel,  "  Vierteljahrsschr.  f.  Ger. 
Med.,"  1893,  Heft  2,  pp.  275,  276. 


MASOCHISM.  147 

of  lust-murder — strange  as  it  may  seem,  is  not  without  its 
counterpart  in  masochism.  In  its  extreme  consequences, 
masochism  must  lead  to  the  desire  to  be  killed  by  a  person 
of  the  opposite  sex,  in  the  same  way  that  sadism  has  its 
acme  in  active  lust-murder.  But  the  instinct  of  self- 
preservation  opposes  such  a  result,  so  that  the  extreme  is 
not  actually  carried  out.  When,  however,  the  whole 
structure  of  masochistic  ideas  is  purely  psychical,  in  the 
imagination  of  such  individuals  even  the  extreme  may  be 
reached,  as  the  following  case  shows : — 

Case  50.   A  middle-aged  man,  married,  and  the  father 

of  a  family,  who  has  always  led  a  normal  vita  sexualis, 
but  who  says  he  comes  of  a  very  nervous  family,  makes 
the  following  communication  :  In  his  early  youth  he  was 
powerfully  excited  sexually  at  the  sight  of  a  woman 
slaughtering  an  animal  with  a  knife.  From  that  time, 
for  many  years,  he  had  revelled  in  the  lustfully  coloured 
idea  of  being  stabbed  and  cut,  and  even  killed,  by  women 
with  knives.  Later  on,  after  the  beginning  of  normal 
sexual  intercourse,  these  ideas  lost  completely  their  per- 
verse stimulus  for  him. 

This  case  should  be  compared  with  the  statements 
made  on  page  123,  according  to  which  men  find  sexual 
pleasure  in  being  lightly  pricked  with  knives  in  the 
hands  of  women,  who  at  the  same  time  threaten  them 
with  death. 

Such  fancies,  perhaps,  give  the  key  to  an  understand- 
ing of  the  following  strange  case,  for  which  I  am  indebted 
to  a  communication  from  Dr.  Korber,  of  Rankau,  in 
Silesia  : — 

Case  51 .  "A  lady  makes  me  the  following  communica- 
tion :  While  still  a  young  and  innocent  girl,  she  was 
married  to  a  man  of  about  thirty  years  On  their  wed- 
ding night  he  forced  a  bowl  with  soap  into  her  hands, 


148  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

and  without  any  expression  of  endearment  wanted  her  to 
lather  his  chin  and  neck  (as  if  for  shaving).  The  inex- 
perienced young  wife  did  it,  and  was  not  a  httle  astonished 
during  the  first  weeks  of  married  life  to  learn  its  secrets  in 
absolutely  no  other  form.  Her  husband  always  told  her 
that  it  gave  him  the  greatest  delight  to  have  his  face 
lathered  by  her.  Later,  after  she  had  sought  the  advice 
of  friends,  she  induced  her  husband  to  perform  coitus,  and 
had  three  children  in  the  course  of  time  (by  him,  she 
states  with  every  assurance).  The  husband  is  industrious 
and  reliable,  but  a  moody  man,  with  short  temper;  by 
occupation  a  merchant." 

It  may  be  inferred  that  this  man  conceived  the  act  of 
being  shaved  {i.e.,  the  lathering  as  a  preparatory  measure) 
as  a  rudimentary,  symbolic  realisation  of  ideas  of  injury  or 
death,  or  of  fancies  about  knives,  like  those  the  man  pre- 
viously mentioned  had  had  in  his  youth,  and  by  means  of 
which  he  had  been  sexually  excited  and  satisfied.  The 
perfect  sadistic  counterpart  to  this  case,  looked  upon  in 
the  same  light,  is  offered  by  observation  32,  which  is  a 
case  of  symbolic  sadism. 

At  any  rate,  there  is  a  whole  group  of  masochists  who 
satisfy  themselves  with  the  symbolic  representations  of 
situations  corresponding  with  their  perversion  ;  a  group 
which  corresponds  with  Group  "  e  "  of  "  symbolic  "  sadists 
just  as  the  previously  mentioned  cases  of  masochism  corre- 
spond with  the  groups  "c"  and  "a"  of  sadism.  Thus, 
just  as  the  perverse  longings  of  the  masochist  may  on 
the  one  hand  advance  to  "passive  lust-murder"  (to  be 
sure,  only  in  imagination),  so,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
may  be  satisfied  with  simple  symbolic  representations  of 
the  desired  situations,  which  otherwise  are  expressed 
in  acts  of  cruelty,  (this,  of  course,  taken  objectively, 
goes  much  farther  than  the  idea  of  being  murdered,  but 
in  fact  not  so  far,  owing  to  the  determining  subjective 
conditions). 


MASOCHISM.  149 

With  case  51  other  similar  cases  may  be  here  de- 
scribed, in  which  the  acts  desired  and  planned  by  the 
masochist  have  a  purely  symbolic  character,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  serve  to  define  the  desired  situation. 

Case  52.  {Pascal,  "  Igiene  dell'  amore  ".)  Every  three 
months  a  man  of  about  forty-five  years  would  visit  a  cer- 
tain prostitute  and  pay  her  ten  francs  for  the  followinf^ 
act.  The  puella  had  to  undress  him,  tie  his  hands  and 
feet,  bandage  his  eyes,  and  draw  the  curtains  of  the 
windows.  Then  she  would  make  her  guest  sit  down  on 
a  sofa,  and  leave  him  there  alone  in  a  helpless  position. 
After  half  an  hour  she  had  to  come  back  and  unbind  him. 
Then  the  man  would  pay  her  and  leave  perfectly  satisfied, 
to  repeat  his  visit  in  about  three  months. 

In  the  dark  this  man  seems  to  have  extended  this 
situation  of  being  helpless  in  the  hands  of  a  woman  by 
the  aid  of  imagination.  The  following  case,  in  which 
again  a  complicated  comedy  in  the  sense  of  masochistic 
desires  is  played,  is  still  more  peculiar  : — 

Case  53.  {Dr.  Pascal,  ibid.)  A  gentleman  in  Paris  was 
accustomed  to  call  on  certain  evenings  at  a  house  where  a 
woman,  the  owner,  acceded  to  his  peculiar  desire.  He 
entered  the  salon  in  full  dress,  and  she,  likewise  in  evening 
toilette,  had  to  receive  him  with  a  very  haughty  manner. 
He  addressed  her  as  "  Marquise,"  and  she  had  to  call  him 
"  dear  Count  ".  Then  he  spoke  of  his  good  fortune  in 
finding  her  alone,  of  his  love  for  her,  and  of  a  lover's 
interview.  At  this  the  lady  had  to  feel  insulted.  The 
pseudo-count  grew  bolder  and  bolder,  and  asked  the 
pseudo-marquise  for  a  kiss  on  her  shoulder.  There  is  an 
angry  scene  ;  the  bell  is  rung  ;  a  servant,  prepared  for  the 
occasion,  appears,  and  throws  the  count  out  of  the  house. 
He  departs  well  satisfied,  and  pays  the  actors  in  the  farce 
handsomely. 


150  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

A  distinction  must  be  made  here  between  "  symbolic  " 
and  "  ideal  "  masochism.  In  the  latter  the  psychical 
perversion  remains  entirely  within  the  spheres  of  imagina- 
tion and  fancy,  and  no  attempt  at  reahsation  is  made. 
(Cf.  cases  47  and  50.)  Two  other  cases  of  ideal  masochism 
are  quoted  here.  The  first  is  that  of  an  individual  men- 
tally and  physically  tainted,  bearing  degenerative  signs,  in 
whom  mental  and  physical  impotence  occurred  early : — 

Case  54.  Mr.  Z.,  aged  twenty-two,  single,  was  brought 
to  me  by  his  father  for  medical  advice,  because  he  was 
very  nervous  and  plainly  sexually  abnormal.  Mother  and 
maternal  grandmother  were  insane.  His  father  begat 
him  at  a  time  when  he  was  suffering  severely  from 
nervousness. 

Patient  is  said  to  have  been  a  very  lively  and  talented 
child.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  was  noticed  to  practise 
masturbation.  After  his  ninth  year  he  became  inattentive, 
forgetful,  and  did  not  progress  in  his  studies,  constantly 
requiring  help  and  protection.  AVith  difficulty  he  got 
through  the  Gymnasium,  and  during  his  time  of  freedom 
had  attracted  attention  by  his  indolence,  absent-minded- 
ness, and  various  foolish  acts. 

Consultation  was  occasioned  by  an  occurrence  in  the 
street,  in  which  Z.  had  forced  himself  on  a  young  girl  in  a 
very  impetuous  manner,  and  in  great  excitement  had  tried 
to  have  a  conversation  with  her. 

The  patient  gave  as  a  reason  that  by  conversing  with 
a  respectable  girl  he  wished  to  excite  himself  so  that  he 
could  be  potent  in  coitus  with  a  prostitute  ! 

His  father  characterises  him  as  a  man  of  perfectly 
good  disposition,  moral  but  lazy,  dissatisfied  with  himself, 
often  in  despair  about  his  want  of  success  in  Hfe,  indolent, 
and  interested  in  nothing  but  music,  for  which  he  possesses 
great  talent. 

The  patient's  exterior — his  plagiocephalic  head,  his 
large,   prominent  ears,  the  deficient  innervation  of  the 


MASOCHISM.  151 

right  facialis  about  the  mouth,  the  neuropathic  expression 
of  the  eyes  — indicate  a  degenerate,  neuropathic  individual. 

Z.  is  tall,  of  powerful  frame,  and  in  all  respects  of 
masculine  appearance.  Pelvis  mascuhne,  testicles  weW 
developed,  penis  remarkably  large,  mons  veneris  w^ith 
abundant  hair.  The  right  testicle  hangs  much  lower 
than  the  left,  the  cremasteric  reflex  is  weak  on  both  sides. 
The  patient  is  intellectually  below  the  average.  He  feels 
his  deficiency,  complains  of  his  indolence,  and  asks  to 
have  his  will  strengthened.  His  awkward,  embarrassed 
manner,  timid  glances,  and  relaxed  attitude  point  to  mas- 
turbation. The  patient  confesses  that  from  his  seventh 
year  until  a  year  and  a  half  ago  he  practised  it,  years  at  a 
time,  from  eight  to  ten  times  daily.  Until  a  few  years 
ago,  when  he  became  neurasthenic  (cephalic  pressure,  loss 
of  mental  power,  spinal  irritation,  etc.),  he  says  he  always 
found  great  sensuous  pleasure  in  it.  Since  then  this  had 
been  lost,  and  the  desire  to  masturbate  had  disappeared. 
He  had  constantly  grown  more  bashful  and  indolent,  less 
energetic,  and  more  cowardly  and  apprehensive.  He  had 
lost  interest  in  everything,  and  did  his  business  only  from 
a  sense  of  duty,  feeling  very  low-spirited.  He  had  never 
thought  of  coitus,  and  from  his  standpoint  as  an  onanist, 
he  could  not  understand  how  others  could  find  pleasure  in 
it. 

Investigations  in  the  direction  of  inverted  sexual  in- 
stinct gave  a  negative  result.  He  says  he  never  was 
drawn  toward  persons  of  his  own  sex  ;  he  rather  thinks 
he  has  now  and  then  had  a  weak  inclination  for  females. 
He  asserts  that  he  came  to  masturbate  independently. 
In  his  thirteenth  year  he  first  noticed  ejaculations  as  a 
result  of  masturbatic  manipulations. 

It  was  only  after  long  persuasion  that  Z.  consented  to 
entirely  unveil  his  vita  sexualis.  As  his  statements  which 
follow  show,  he  may  be  classified  as  a  case  of  ideal  maso- 
chism, with  rudimentary  sadism.  The  patient  distinctlv 
remembers  that  at  the  age  of  six,  without  any  cause,  he 


152  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

had  "ideas  of  violence  ".  He  was  compelled  to  imagine 
that  a  servant  girl  spread  his  legs  apart  and  showed  his 
genitals  to  another  ;  that  she  tried  to  throw  him  into  cold 
or  hot  water  in  order  to  cause  him  pain.  These  "  ideas  of 
violence  "  were  attended  with  lustful  feeling,  and  became 
the  cause  of  masturbatic  manipulations.  Later  the  patient 
called  them  up  voluntarily,  in  order  to  incite  himself  to 
masturbation.  They  also  played  a  part  in  his  dreams  ; 
but  they  never  induced  pollution,  apparently  because  the 
patient  masturbated  excessively  during  the  day. 

In  time,  to  these  masochistic  "  ideas  of  violence " 
others  of  a  sadistic  nature  were  added.  At  first  they  were 
scenes  in  which  boys  forcibly  practised  onanism  on  one 
another,  or  cut  off  the  genitals.  He  often  imagined  him- 
self such  a  boy,  now  in  an  active,  now  in  a  passive  role. 
Later  he  busied  himself  with  mental  pictures  of  girls  and 
women  exhibiting  themselves  to  one  another.  He  revelled 
in  the  thought,  for  example,  of  a  servant  girl  spreading 
another  girl's  legs  apart  and  pulling  the  genital  hair ;  or 
in  the  thought  of  boys  treating  girls  cruelly,  and  pricking 
and  pinching  their  genitals. 

Such  ideas  also  always  induced  sexual  excitement,but  he 
never  experienced  any  impulse  to  carry  them  out  actively 
or  to  have  them  performed  on  himself  passively.  It 
satisfied  him  to  use  them  for  masturbation.  Since  a  year 
and  a  half  ago,  with  diminishing  sexual  imagination  and 
libido  these  ideas  and  impulses  had  become  infrequent, 
but  their  content  remained  unchanged.  The  masochis- 
tic "ideas  of  violence"  predominated  over  the  sadistic. 
Now,  when  he  sees  a  lady,  he  has  the  thought  that  she 
has  sexual  ideas  Hke  his  own.  In  this  way,  in  part,  he 
explains  his  embarrassment  in  social  intercourse.  Owing 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  heard  that  he  would  get  rid  of  his 
burdensome  sexual  ideas  if  he  were  to  accustom  himself 
to  natural  sexual  indulgence,  during  the  last  year  and  a 
half  he  has  twice  attempted  coitus,  though  he  only  ex- 
perienced repugnance,  and  was  not  confident  of  success. 


MASOCHISM.  153 

On  both  occasions  the  attempt  was  a  fiasco.  The  second 
time  he  made  the  attempt  he  felt  such  aversion  that  he 
pushed  the  girl  away  and  fled. 

The  second  case  is  the  following  observation  placed 
at  my  disposal  by  a  colleague.  Even  though  it  be  aphor- 
istic, it  seems  particularly  suited  to  throw  a  clear  light  on 
the  distinctive  element  of  masochism — the  consciousness 
of  subjection,  in  its  peculiar  psycho-sexual  effect : — 

Case  55.  Z.,  aged  twenty-seven, artist,  powerfully  built, 
of  pleasing  appearance,  is  said  to  be  free  from  hereditary 
taint.  Healthy  in  youth,  since  his  twenty-third  year  he 
has  been  nervous  and  inclined  to  be  hypochondriacal. 
Although  he  brags  of  sexual  indulgence  he  is  not  very 
virile.  In  spite  of  associations  with  females,  his  relations 
with  them  are  limited  to  innocent  attentions.  At  the 
same  time,  his  covetousness  for  women  who  are  cold 
toward  him  is  remarkable.  Since  his  twenty -fifth 
year  he  has  noticed  that  females,  no  matter  how  ugly, 
always  excite  him  sexually  whenever  he  discovers  any- 
thing domineering  in  their  character.  An  angry  word 
from  the  lips  of  such  a  woman  is  sufficient  to  give  him  the 
most  violent  erections.  Thus,  one  day  he  sat  in  a  cafe 
and  heard  the  (ugly)  female  cashier  scold  the  waiters  in  a 
loud  voice.  This  threw  him  into  the  most  intense  sexual 
excitement,  which  soon  induced  ejaculation.  Z.  requires 
the  women  with  whom  he  is  to  have  sexual  intercourse  to 
repulse  and  annoy  him  in  various  ways.  He  thinks  that 
only  a  woman  like  the  heroines  of  Sacher-Masoch's 
romances  could  charm  him. 

Cases  like  this,  in  which  the  whole  perversion  of  the 
vita  sexiialis  is  confined  to  the  sphere  of  imagination — to 
the  inner  world  of  thought  and  instinct — and  only  acci- 
dentally comes  to  the  knowledge  of  others,  do  not  seem  to 
be  infrequent.     Their  practical  significance,  like  that  of 


154  PSYCHOPATIIIA   SEXUALIS. 

masochism  in  general  (which  has  not  the  great  forensic 
importance  of  sadism),  is  confined  to  the  psychical  im- 
potence to  which  such  individuals,  as  a  rule,  become 
subject ;  and  to  the  intense  impulse  to  solitary  indulgence, 
with  adequate  imaginary  ideas,  and  all  its  consequences. 

That  masochism  is  a  perversion  of  uncommonly  fre- 
quent occurrence  is  sufficiently  shown  by  the  relatively 
large  number  of  cases  that  have  thus  far  been  studied 
scientifically,  as  well  as  by  the  agreement  of  the  various 
statements  reported. 

The  works  concerning  prostitution  in  large  cities 
also  contain  numerous  statements  concerning  this 
matter.^ 

It  is  interesting  and  worthy  of  mention  that  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  men  was  subject  to  this  perversion 
and  describes  it  in  his  autobiography  (though  some- 
what erroneously).  From  "  Jean  Jacques  Eousseau's 
Confessions "  it  is  evident  that  he  was  affected  with 
masochism. 

Rousseau,  with  reference  to  whose  life  and  malady 
Mobius  {"  J.  J.  Eousseau's  Krankheitsgeschichte,"  Leipzig, 
1890)  and  Chatclain  ("  La  folie  de  J.  J.  Eousseau,"  Neu- 
cliatel,  1891)  may  be  consulted,  tells  in  his  "  Confessions" 
(part  i.,  book  i.)  how  Miss  Lambercier,  aged  thirty,  greatly 
impressed  him  when  he  was  eight  years  old,  and  lived  with 

1  Leo  Taxil  {op.  cit.,  p.  228)  describes  masochistic  scenes  in  Parisian 
brothels.  The  man  affected  witli  this  perversion  is  there  also  called 
"  slave  ". 

Coffignon  ("  La  corruption  a  Paris  ")  has  a  chapter  in  his  book  entitled 
"  Les  Passionels  "  which  contains  contributions  to  this  subject. 

The  strongest  proof  of  the  frequency  of  masochism  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  openly  appears  in  newspaper  advertisements.  For  instance,  the 
following  advertisement  appeared  in  the  "  Hannoversches'  Tageblatt."'  4th 
December,  1895  : — 

"  Sacher-Masoch.  109,404.  Ladies  interested  in  the  works,  and  who 
embody  the  female  characters,  of  this  author  are  requested  to  send  their 
address,  under  No.  E.  537,  to  the  offices  of  this  paper.  Strictest  discretion." 
A  similar  advertisement  appeared  in  the  same  number. 


MASOCHISM.  155 

lier  brother  as  his  pupil.  Her  solicitude  when  he  could 
not  immediately  answer  a  question,  and  her  threats  to 
punish  him  if  he  did  not  learn  well,  made  the  deepest 
impression  on  him.  When  one  day  he  had  blows  at  her 
hands,  with  the  feeling  of  pain  and  shame  he  also  experi- 
enced sensuous  pleasure,  that  incited  a  great  desire  to  be 
whipped  by  her  again.  It  was  only  for  fear  of  disturbing 
the  lady  that  Rousseau  failed  to  make  other  opportunities 
to  experience  this  lustful,  sensual  feeling.  One  day,  how- 
ever, he  unintentionally  gave  cause  for  a  whipping  a,t  Miss 
Lambercier's  hands.  This  was  the  last  ;  for  Miss  Lam- 
bercier  must  have  noticed  something  of  the  peculiar  effect 
of  the  punishment,  she  did  not  allow  the  eight -year-old 
boy  to  sleep  in  her  room  any  more.  From  this  time 
Rousseau  felt  a  desire  to  have  himself  punished  by  ladies 
pleasing  to  him,  a  la  Lambercier,  but  he  asserts  that  until 
his  youth  he  knew  nothing  of  the  relation  of  the  sexes  to 
each  other.  As  is  known,  Rousseau  was  first  introduced 
to  the  real  mysteries  of  love  in  his  thirtieth  year,  and  lost 
his  innocence  through  Madame  de  Warrens.  Till  then 
he  had  had  only  feelings  and  impulses  attracting  him  to 
woman  in  the  nature  of  passive  flagellation,  and  other 
masochistic  ideas. 

Rousseau  describes  in  extenso  how  he  suffered,  with  his 
great  sexual  desires,  by  reason  of  his  peculiar  sensuousness, 
which  had  undoubtedly  been  awakened  by  his  whippings, 
for  he  revelled  in  desire,  and  could  not  disclose  his  long- 
ings. It  would  be  erroneous,  however,  to  suppose  that 
Rousseau  was  concerned  merely  with  flagellation.  Fla- 
gellation only  awakened  ideas  of  a  masochistic  nature. 
At  least  in  these  ideas  lies  the  psychological  nucleus  of  his 
interesting  study  of  self.  The  essential  element  with 
Rousseau  was  the  feeling  of  subjection  to  the  woman. 
This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  "  Confessions,"  in  which 
he  expressly  emphasises  that  "  Etre  aux  genoux  d'une 
maitresse  imperieuse,  obeir  a  ses  ordres,  avoir  des  pardons 


156  PSYCHOPATPIIA    SEXUALIS. 

a  lui  demander,  etaient  pour  moi  de  tres  douces  jouis- 
sances  ".^ 

This  passage  proves  that  the  consciousness  of  subjec- 
tion to  and  humihation  by  the  woman  was  the  most 
important  element. 

To  be  sure,  Bousseau  was  himself  in  error  in  supposing 
that  this  impulse  to  be  humiliated  by  a  woman  had  arisen 
by  association  of  ideas  from  the  idea  of  flagellation  : — 

"  N'osant  jamais  declarer  mon  gout,  je  I'amusais  du 
moins  par  des  rapports  qui  m'en  conservaient  I'idee". 

It  is  only  in  connection  with  the  numerous  cases  of 
masochism,  the  existence  of  which  has  now  been  estab- 
lished, and  among  which  there  are  so  many  that  are  in  no 
wise  connected  with  flagellation,  showing  the  primary  and 
purely  psj^chical  character  of  this  instinct  of  subjection — 
it  is  only  in  connection  with  these  cases  that  a  complete 
insight  into  Bousseau's  case  is  obtained  and  the  error  de- 
tected into  which  he  necessarily  fell  in  the  analysis  of  his 
own  condition. 

Binet  ("  Eevue  Anthropologique,"  xxiv.,  p.  256),  who  an- 
alyses Rousseau's  case  in  detail,  justly  calls  attention  to 
its  masochistic  significance  when  he  says  :  "  Ce  qu'aime 
Rousseau  dans  les  femmes,  ce  n'est  pas  seulement  le 
sourcil  fronce,  la  main  levee,  le  regard  severe,  I'attitude 
imperieuse,  c'est  aussi  I'etat  emotionnel,  dont  ces  faits 
sont  la  traduction  exterieure  ;  il  aime  la  femme  fiere, 
dedaigneuse,  I'ecrasant  a  ses  pieds  du  poids  de  sa  royale 
colere  ". 

The  solution  of  this  enigmatical  psychological  fact 
Binet  finds  in  his  assumption  that  it  is  an  instance  of 
fetichism,  only  with  the  difference  that  the  object  of  the 
fetichism — i.e.,  the  object  of  individual  attraction  (fetich) 

^  "  To  be  at  the  feet  of  an  imperious  mistress,  to  obey  her  orders,  to  bo 
compelled  to  sue  her  for  pardon, — these  things  are  my  most  intense  de- 
light." 


MASOCHISM,  157 

■ — is  not  a  portion  of  the  body  like  a  hand  or  foot,  but  a 
mental  peculiarity.  This  enthusiasm  he  calls  "  amour 
spirihcaliste,"  in  contrast  with  ''  amour  plastique,"  as  mani- 
fested in  ordinary  fetichism. 

This  deduction  is  acute,  but  it  is  only  a  term  by 
which  to  designate  a  fact,  not  a  solution  of  it.  Whether 
an  explanation  is  possible,  will  later  occupy  our  attention. 

There  were  also  elements  of  masochism  (and  sadism) 
in  the  French  writer  C.  P.  Baudelaire,  who  died  insane. 

Baudelaire  came  of  an  insane  and  eccentric  family. 
From  his  youth  he  was  psychically  abnormal.  His  vita 
sexualis  was  decidedly  abnormal.  He  had  love-affairs 
with  ugly,  repulsive  women — negresses,  dwarfs,  giantesses. 
About  a  very  beautiful  woman  he  expressed  the  wish  to 
see  her  hung  up  by  her  hands  and  to  kiss  her  feet.  This 
enthusiasm  for  the  naked  foot  also  appears  in  one  of  his 
fiercely  feverish  poems  as  the  equivalent  of  sexual  indulg- 
ence. He  said  women  were  animals  who  had  to  be  shut 
up,  beaten  and  fed  well.  The  man  displaying  these 
masochistic  and  sadistic  inclinations  died  of  paretic  de- 
mentia.    {Lomhroso,  "The  Man  of  Genius".) 

In  scientific  literature,  the  conditions  constituting 
masochism  have  not  received  attention  until  recently. 
Tarnoivsky,  however  ("Die  kraiikhaften  Erscheinungen 
des  Geschlechtssinns,"  BerHn,  1886),  relates  that  he  has 
known  happily  married,  intellectual  men,  who  from  time 
to  time  felt  an  irresistible  impulse  to  subject  themselves 
to  the  coarsest,  cynical  treatment — to  scoldings  or  blows 
from  passive  or  active  pederasts  or  prostitutes.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that,  as  Tarnowsky  observes,  in  certain 
cases  blows,  even  when  they  draw  blood,  do  not  bring  the 
desired  result  (virility,  or  at  least  ejaculation  during 
flagellation)  by  those  given  to  passive  flagellation.  "  The 
individual  must  then  be  undressed  by  force,  his  hands  tied, 
fastened  to  a  bench,  etc.,  during  which  he  shams  opposi- 


158  PSYCriOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

tion,  scolds,  and  pretends  to  resist.  Only  under  such 
circumstances  do  the  blows  induce  excitement  leading  to 
ejaculation." 

0.  Zimmirmans  work,  "  Die  Wonne  des  Leids,"  Leip- 
zig, 1885,  also  contributes  much  to  this  subject,^  taken 
from  history  and  literature. 

More  recently  this  matter  has  attracted  fuller  attention. 

A.  Moll,  in  his  work,  "  Die  Contrare  Sexualempfin- 
dung,"  pp.  133  and  151  et  seq.,  Berlin,  1891,  quotes  a 
number  of  cases  of  complete  masochism  in  individuals  of 
inverted  sexuality,  and  among  them  that  of  a  man  suffer- 
ing with  sexual  perversion,  who  sent  written  instructions, 
containing  twenty  paragraphs,  to  a  man  engaged  for  this 
purpose,  who  was  to  treat  and  abuse  him  like  a  slave. 

In  June,  1891,  Mr.  Dimitri  von  Stefanowshy ,  Deputy 
Government  Attorney  in  Jaroslaw,  Eussia,  informed  me 
that,  about  three  years  before,  he  had  given  his  attention 
to  the  perversion  of  the  vita  sexualis  designated  "maso- 
chism" by  me,  and  called  "passivism"  by  him;  that  a 
year  and  a  half  previously  he  had  prepared  a  paper  on  the 
subject  for  Professor  von  Kowaleivsky  for  the  Russian 
"Archives  of  Psychiatry"  ;  and  that  in  November,  1888, 
he  had  read  a  paper  on  this  subject,  considered  in  its  legal 
and  psychological  aspects,  before  the  Legal  Society  of 
Moscow  (printed  in  the  "  Juridischer  Boten,"  the  organ 
of  the  society,  in  Nos.  6  to  8).^ 

V.  Schrenck-Notzing  devotes  in  his  work  "  Therapeutic 
Suggestions   in   Psychopathia  Sexualis,'"  (Stuttgart,   1892), 

1  However,  the  domain  of  masochism  must  be  sharply  differentiated 
from  the  principal  subject  of  that  work,  which  is,  that  love  contains  an 
element  of  sufEerhig.  Unrequited  love  has  always  been  described  as 
"  sweet,  but  sorrowful,"  and  yyocis  speak  of  "  blissful  pain  "  or  "  painful 
bliss  ".  This  must  not  be  confounded,  as  Z.  does,  with  the  manifestations 
of  masochism,  any  more  than  should  be  the  characterisation  of  an  un- 
yielding lover  as  "cruel".  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  Hamcrling 
("  Amor  und  Psyche,"  iv.  Gesang)  uses  perfect  masochistic  pictures, 
flagellation,  etc.,  to  express  this  feeling. 

^C/.  his  recent  paper  on  "  Passivisimus  "  in  the  "  Archives  d'Anthro- 
pologie  Criminulle,"  1892,  vii.,  p.  294. 


MASOCHISM.  159 

several  paragraphs  to  masochism  and  sadism  and  quotes 
several  observations  of  his  own.^ 

(b)  Latent  Masochism — Foot-  and  Shoe-Fetichists. 

Following  the  group  of  masochists  is  the  very  numer- 
ous class  of  foot-  and  shoe-fetichists.  This  group  forms 
the  transition  to  the  manifestations  of  another  independent 
perversion,  i.e.,  fetichism  itself;  but  it  stands  in  closer 
relationship  to  masochism  than  to  the  latter,  for  which 
reason  it  is  placed  here. 

By  fetichists  {v.  infra,  3)  I  understand  individuals 
whose  sexual  interest  is  concentrated  exclusively  on  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  female  body,  or  on  certain  portions  of 
female  attire.  One  of  the  most  frequent  forms  of  this 
fetichism  is  that  in  which  the  female  foot  or  shoe  is  the 
fetich,  and  becomes  the  exclusive  object  of  sexual  feeling 
and  desire.  It  is  highly  probable,  and  shown  by  a  correct 
classification  of  the  observed  cases,  that  the  majority — 
and  perhaps  all — of  the  cases  of  shoe  fetichism,  rest  upon 
a  basis  of  more  or  less  conscious  masochistic  desire  for 
self-humihation. 

In  Hammond' s  case  (case  49)  the  satisfaction  of  a  maso- 
chist  was  found  in  being  trod  upon.     In  cases  41  and  47 

1  In  later  fiction,  the  psycho  sexual  perversion  which  forms  the  subject 
of  this  study  has  been  treated  by  Sacher-Masoch,  whose  writings,  already 
frequently  alluded  to,  afford  typical  pictures  of  the  perverse  mental  life  of 
men  of  this  kind.  Many  affected  with  this  perversion  refer  directly  to  the 
writings  of  Sacher-Masoch,  as  is  seen  from  the  foregoing  cases,  as  typical 
descriptions  of  their  own  psychical  condition. 

In  "  Nana,"  Zola  has  a  masochistic  scene,  and  likewise  in  "  Eugene 
Rougon  ".  The  latest  "decadent"  literature  of  France  and  Germany  is 
also  largely  concerned  with  the  themes  of  sadism  and  masochism.  Ac- 
cording to  voii  Stefanowsky's  statement,  the  modern  Russian  novel  fre- 
quently treats  the  subject ;  but  the  statements  of  the  writer  of  travels, 
Johann  Georg  Foister  (1754-1794)  show  that  this  subject  also  played 
a  role  in  Russian  folk-lore. 

Stefanowsky  finds  the  type  of  passivism  in  an  English  tragedy  by 
Otway,  "  Venice  Preserved,"  and  refers  also  to  Dr.  Luiz,  "  Les  FcUatores, 
Moeurs  de  la  decadence,"  Paris,  1888  (Union  des  bibliophiles). 


160  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

they  also  had  themselves  trod  upon  ;  in  case  48,  equus 
eroticus,  the  person  loved  a  woman's  foot,  etc.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  of  masochism  the  act  of  being  trod  upon 
with  feet  plays  a  part  ^  as  an  easily  accessible  means  of 
expressing  the  relation  of  subjection. 

Of  the  numerous  established  cases  of  shoe-fetichism, 
the  following  one,  reported  by  Dr.  A.  Moll,  of  Berlin, 
which  corresponds  in  many  respects  with  Hammond's 
case,  but  which  is  described  in  greater  detail  and  is  more 
carefully  observed,  seems  especially  suited  to  show  the 
connection  between  masochism  and  shoe-fetichism  : — 

Case  56.  0.  L.,  aged  thirty-one,  book-keeper  in  a  city 
of  Wiirtemberg  ;  comes  of  a  tainted  family. 

The  patient  is  a  large,  powerful  man,  of  ruddy  appear- 
ance. In  general  he  is  of  a  quiet  temperament,  but  may 
become  very  violent  on  occasion  ;  he  says  himself  that  he 
is  quarrelsome  and  dogmatic.  L.  is  of  a  kindly  disposition 
and  generous  ;  easily  made  to  weep.  At  school  he  passed 
for  a  talented  pupil,  with  good  powers  of  comprehen- 
sion. The  patient  at  times  has  congestion  of  the 
head,  but  is  otherwise  healthy,  except  that  he  is  much 
depressed  and  melancholic  as  a  result  of  his  sexual  per- 
version, here  to  be  described. 

But  little  can  be  learned  of  any  hereditary  taint. 

The  following  facts  concerning  the  development  of  his 
sexual  life  are  gathered  from  the  patient's  own  state- 
ments : — 

In  very  early  youth — in  fact,  when  he  was  eight  or  nine 
years  old — L.  had  the  desire  to  lick  his  teacher's  boots 
like  a  dog.  L.  thinks  it  possible  that  this  thought  was 
excited  by  once  seeing  a  dog  actually  do  this,  but  he  can- 
not state  it  with  certainty ;  and  it  seems  much  more  likely 
to  the  patient  that  the  first  ideas  of  this  kind  came  in  a 
waking  state,  not  in  dreams. 

1  The  desire  to  be  trod  upon  also  occurs  in  religious  enthusiasts  (c/. 
Turgenjew,  "  Sonderbare  Geschichteu  "). 


MASOCHISM.  161 

From  his  tenth  to  his  fourteenth  year  he  constantly 
sought  to  touch  the  shoes  of  his  fellow-pupils,  and  also 
those  of  little  girls  ;  but  for  this  purpose  he  always  chose 
boys  who  had  toealihy  and  prominent  parents.  One  of  these, 
the  son  of  a  rich  landed  proprietor,  had  riding-boots  ;  in 
the  boy's  absence  L.  took  these  in  his  hands,  struck  him- 
self with  them  and  pressed  them  against  his  face.  L.  did 
the  same  thing  with  the  elegant  boots  of  an  officer  of 
dragoons. 

With  arriving  puberty  the  desire  was  transferred  ex- 
clusively to  the  boots  of  females.  Thus,  while  skating, 
the  patient's  attention  was  entirely  occupied  with  putting 
on  and  taking  off  skates  for  ladies ;  but  he  always  chose 
only  such  women  as  were  rich  and  prominent  socially, 
wearing  elegant  boots.  In  the  street  and  everywhere  L. 
constantly  looked  for  elegant  boots.  His  love  for  them 
went  so  far  that  he  often  put  in  his  purse,  and  even  in  his 
mouth,  the  sand  and  mud  that  bore  their  imprints.  As  a 
boy  of  fourteen  L.  visited  brothels,  and  he  often  visited  a 
cafe  chantant  solely  to  excite  himself  with  the  sight  of  ele- 
gant boots  (low  shoes  were  less  attractive).  In  his  school 
books  and  on  the  walls  of  closets  L.  drew  boots.  In  the 
theatre  he  saw  nothing  but  the  shoes  of  the  ladies.  For 
hours  at  a  time,  in  the  street  and  on  board  steamboats, 
L.  would  run  after  ladies  wearing  elegant  boots;  and  he 
thought  with  delight  of  how  he  might  get  a  chance  to 
touch  the  boots.  This  peculiar  love  for  boots  remains  un- 
changed. The  thought  to  have  himself  trod  zcpon  by  ladies  in 
their  boots  or  to  kiss  the  boots  gives  L.  the  most  intense  sensual 
delight.  Before  the  windows  of  shoe  shops  he  will  stand 
and  stand,  merely  to  look  at  the  boots.  He  is  particularly 
excited  by  their  elegance. 

The  patient  prefers  high-buttoned  or  laced  boots  with 
high  heels  ;  but  less  elegant  boots,  even  with  low  heels, 
also  excite  him  if  their  wearer  is  a  wealthy,  distinguished, 
and  proud  lady. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  L.  attempted  coitus;  but  "in 

11 


162  PSYCHOPATHIA    SFXUALIS. 

spite  of  the  greatest  efforts,"  as  he  beheves,  he  was  not 
successful.  During  the  attempt  the  patient  had  no 
thought  of  shoes  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  first  sought  to 
excite  himself  sexually  with  shoes,  and  he  asserts  that 
too  great  excitement  was  to  blame  for  his  want  of  success 
in  coitus.  Up  to  this  time,  being  thirty-one  years  old,  he 
has  attempted  coitus  only  four  or  five  times,  and  always  in 
vain. 

On  one  occasion  the  patient,  already  much  to  be  pitied 
on  account  of  his  disease,  had  the  misfortune  to  contract 
syphilis.  In  reply  to  the  question  as  to  what  he  regarded 
as  the  most  lustful  act,  the  patient  said  :  "It  is  my  greatest 
delight  to  lie  naked  on  the  floor  and  have  myself  trod  upon  by 
girls  wearing  elegant  boots ;  but,  of  course,  this  is  possible 
only  in  brothels  ".  Moreover,  according  to  the  patient's 
statements,  these  sexual  perversions  of  men  are  well  known 
m  many  houses  of  prostitution — a  proof  that  they  are  nut 
so  very  infrequent.  The  prostitutes  call  these  men  "  boot 
lovers  ".  But  the  patient  has  only  very  infrequently  had 
the  lustful  act  actually  performed,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  it  is  most  beautiful  and  pleasant  to  him.  The 
patient  has  no  thoughts  that  impel  to  intercourse  ;  at 
least  not  in  the  sense  of  immissio  penis  in  vaginam — an 
act  that  affords  him  no  pleasure  whatever.  Indeed,  he 
has  gradually  developed  a  fear  of  coitus,  which  may  be 
sufficiently  explained  by  his  numerous  unsuccessful  at- 
tempts ;  for  the  patient  says  himself  that  his  inability  to 
ccjmplete  coitus  embarrassed  him  exceedingly.  The 
patient  has  never  practised  real  onanism.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  occasions  on  which  the  patient  satisfied 
his  sexual  desire  by  onanism  with  boots  or  in  a  similar 
way,  he  is  innocent  of  such  satisfaction  ;  for,  in  the  excite- 
ment with  boots,  there  is  scarcely  ever  anything  more  than 
erection  ;  at  most,  only  a  slight  discharge  of  fluid  takes 
place  slowly  which  the  patient  takes  to  be  semen. 

Simply  a  shoe,  worn  by  no  one,  excites  him  when  he 
sees  it,  but  not  nearly  as  intensely  as  when  it  is  worn  by 


MASOCHISM.  163 

a  woman.  New  shoes  that  have  not  been  worn  excite 
him  much  less  than  those  that  have  been  used ;  but  they 
must  be  free  from  wear  and  look  as  new  as  possible. 
Shoes  of  this  kind  excite  him  the  most.  As  has  been 
said,  ladies'  boots  excite  him  when  they  are  not  on  the 
feet.  Under  such  circumstances,  in  fancy  L.  creates  a 
lady  for  them  ;  he  presses  them  to  his  hps  and  on  his 
penis.  He  would  "die  with  delight"  if  a  proud,  respect- 
able lady  were  to  tread  upon  him  with  her  shoes. 

Aside  from  the  previously  mentioned  characteristics  of 
the  women  (pride,  wealth,  social  prominence),  which,  in 
connection  with  the  elegance  of  the  boots,  constitute  an 
especial  stimulus,  the  patient  is  by  no  means  indifferent 
to  the  physical  charms  of  the  female  sex.  He  is  enthusi- 
astic about  beautiful  women  without  thinking  of  boots, 
but  this  love  is  not  directed  to  sexual  satisfaction.  The 
bodily  charms  play  a  part  even  in  connection  with  the 
boots  ;  a  homely  old  woman,  even  wearing  the  most  ele- 
gant boots,  cannot  affect  the  patient.  The  rest  of  the 
attire  and  other  circumstances  also  play  an  essential  ruh, 
as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  elegant  boots  worn  by  proud, 
distinguished  women  especially  excite  the  patient.  A 
common  servant  girl  in  her  working  dress,  even  in  the 
most  elegant  shoes,  would  not  excite  him.  Men's  shoes 
and  boots  no  longer  affect  the  patient,  and  he  never  in  the 
slightest  degree  feels  himself  attracted  to  men  sexually. 

Yet  the  patient  has  erections  very  easily.  When  he 
takes  a  child  in  his  lap,  when  he  pats  a  dog  or  horse  for 
some  time,  when  he  travels  on  the  cars,  or  when  he  rides, — ■ 
erections  occur.  In  the  latter  case  he  thinks  it  is  due  to 
the  shaking.  He  has  erections  every  morning,  and  he 
can  induce  erection  in  a  very  short  time  by  thinking  of  the 
act  with  boots  that  is  so  pleasing  to  him.  Pollutions  for- 
merly occurred  frequently  at  night — about  every  three  or 
four  weeks ;  now  they  are  more  infrequent,  occurring 
once  about  every  three  months. 

In  his  erotic   dreams   the   patient  is   almost   always 


164  PSYCMOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

sexually  excited  by  the  same  thoughts  that  excite  him  in 
the  waking  state.  For  some  time  he  thinks  he  has  felt 
ejaculation  during  erection;  but  he  draws  this  conclusion 
only  from  feeling  a  little  moisture  at  the  end  of  the  penis. 
Literature  touching  upon  the  sphere  of  the  patient  s 
sexual  ideas  especially  excite  him.  Thus,  in  reading 
"  Venus  in  Furs,"  by  Sacher-Masoch,  he  is  so  excited  ut 
S2)cr7na  stillaret.  '  Moreover,  with  L.,  this  kind  of  ejacu- 
lation while  reading  is  a  decided  satisfaction  of  his  sexual 
desire.  My  question,  whether  blows  received  from  a 
woman's  hand  would  also  excite  him,  the  patient  thinks 
he  would  have  to  answer  in  the  affirmative.  The  patient 
has  never  made  any  such  trial,  but  jplayful  taps  had,  at 
any  rate,  always  been  very  pleasing  to  him. 

It  would  afford  the  patient  a  particularly  intense 
pleasure  if  he  were  to  be  kicked  by  a  woman,  even 
without  shoes,  and  with  bare  feet.  He  does  not  think 
that  the  blows,  as  such,  would  cause  the  excitement.  But 
rather  the  thought  of  being  maltreated  by  a  woman  ;  the 
sanie  effect  might  be  obtained  by  scolding  or  actual  blows. 
Besides,  blows  and  cross  words  had  an  exciting  effect  only 
when  they  came  from  a  proud  and  distinguished  lady. 
In  general  it  is  the  feeling  of  humiliation  and  slavish  subjection 
that  gives  the  patient  lustful  pleasure.  "  Were  a  lady," 
the  patient  tells  me,  "  to  command  me  to  wait  for  her, 
even  in  severe  cold  weather,  I  should,  nevertheless,  feel 
sensual  pleasure." 

To  the  question  whether  boots  in  general  produced 
this  feeling  of  humiliation,  the  patient  answers  :  "  I  think 
that  this  passion  for  self-humiliation  has  been  concentrated 
especially  on  ladies'  boots,  for  it  is  symbolic  of  one's  being 
'  unworthy  to  loosen  the  latchet  of  another's  shoe  ' ;  and, 
besides,  a  subject  kneels  ". 

Women's  stockings  also  have  an  exciting  effect  on 
the  patient,  but  only  to  a  slight  extent,  and  perhaps  only 
through  awakening  an  idea  of  boots.  The  patient's  pas- 
sion for  ladies'  boots  had  coi:stantly  increased,  but  of  late 


MASOCHISM.  165 

years  he  thought  he  had  noticed  a  diminution  of  it.  He 
seldom  visits  pubhc  women,  and  is  also  more  capable  of 
self-restraint.  Yet  this  passion  still  rules  him  absolutely, 
and  every  other  pleasure  is  spoiled  by  it,  A  pretty  female 
boot  could  draw  his  eye  away  from  the  most  beautiful 
landscape.  At  the  present  time  he  often  goes  about  at 
night  in  the  corridors  of  hotels,  seeking  elegant  ladies' 
shoes,  which  he  kisses  and  presses  against  his  face  and 
neck,  but  principally  against  his  penis. 

The  patient,  who  is  very  well-to-do,  a  short  time  ago 
went  voluntarily  to  Italy,  only  with  the  thought  of  be- 
coming the  servant  of  a  rich  and  distinguished  lady 
unacquainted  with  him  ;  but  the  plan  failed.  The  patient, 
who  came  only  for  consultation,  has  not  yet  been  treated 
medically. 

The  foregoing  history  reaches  almost  to  the  present 
time,  and  m  the  interval  he  has  sent  me  communications 
by  letter  concerning  his  condition.  It  does  not  require  an 
extensive  commentary.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  the 
best  cases  to  illustrate  the  relationship  between  shoe- 
fetichism  and  masochism  as  set  forth  by  von  Krafft-Ehing} 
The  principal  charm  for  the  patient,  as  he,  without 
leading  questions,  always  emphasises,  is  his  subjection  to 
a  woman,  who  in  pride  and  position  must  be  as  far  above 
him  as  possible  {Moll,  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  Libido 
Sexualis,  Bd.  i.,  2  Theil,  Beob.  36,  p.  320). 

Such  cases  are  numerous  in  which,    within  a  fully 


1  However,  against  the  theory  that  foot-  and  shoe-fetichism  is  a 
manifestation  of  (latent)  masochism,  Dr.  Moll  {op.  cit.,  p.  136)  raises  the 
objection  that  it  is  still  unexplained  why  the  fetichist  so  often  prefers 
boots  with  high  heels,  to  boots  and  shoes  of  a  particular  kind — buttoned 
or  laced.  To  this  objection  it  may  be  remarked  that  in  the  first  place  the 
high  heels  characterise  the  shoes  as  feminine,  and  in  the  second  place, 
that  in  spite  of  the  sexual  character  of  his  inclination,  the  fetichist  de- 
mands all  kinds  of  aeithetic  qualities  in  his  fetich  (c/.  case  88) ;  also  the 
interesting  theories  advanced  by  Restif  de  la  Bretonnc  [himself  foot- 
fetichist],  and  quoted  in  Moll's  work,  np.  ciL,  pp.  493  and  499,  footnote. 


166  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

developed  circle  of  masochistic  ideas,  the  foot  and  the 
shoe  or  boot  of  a  woman,  conceived  as  a  means  of  humili- 
ation, have  become  the  objects  of  especial  sexual  interest. 
Through  numerous  deforces  that  are  easily  discriminated 
they  form  the  demonstrable  transition  to  other  cases  in 
which  the  masochistic  inclinations  retreat  more  and  more 
to  the  background,  and  little  by  little  pass  beyond  the 
threshold  of  consciousness,  while  the  interest  in  women's 
shoes,  apparently  absolutely  inexplicable,  alone  remains  in 
consciousness.  Frequent  cases  of  shoe-lovers,  which,  like 
all  cases  of  fetichism,  posses^  forensic  interest  (theft  of 
shoes),  occupy  a  position  midway  between  masochism  and 
fetichism.  The  majority  or  all  may  be  looked  upon  as 
instances  of  latent  masochism  (the  motive  remaining 
unconscious)  in  which  the  female  foot  or  shoe,  as  the  maso- 
chist's  fetich,  has  acquired  an  independent  significance. 

Next  come  two  cases  in  which  the  female  shoe  pos- 
sesses a  subordinate  interest,  but  in  which  unmistakable 
masochistic  desires  play  an  important  part  (c/.  case  41)  : — 

Case  57.  Mr.  X.,  aged  twenty-five,  parents  healthy, 
never  sick  before,  places  the  following  autobiography  at 
my  disposal :  "  I  began  to  practise  onanism  at  the  age  of 
ten,  without  ever  having  any  lustful  thoughts  during  the 
act.  Yet  at  that  time — I  am  sure  of  this — the  sight  and 
touch  of  girls'  elegant  boots  had  a  pecuhar  charm  for  me  ; 
my  greatest  desire  was  also  to  wear  such  shoes,  a  wish 
that  was  occasionally  fulfilled  at  masquerades.  But  I  was 
also  troubled  l)y  a  very  different  thought :  my  ideal  was  to 
sec  myself  in  a  position  of  humiliation;  I  would  gladly  have  been 
a  slave,  and  whipped  ;  in  short,  I  wished  to  receive  the 
treatment  that  one  finds  described  in  many  stories  of 
slavery.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  reading  of  such 
stories  gave  rise  to  my  wish,  or  whether  it  arose  spon- 
taneously. 

"  Puberty  began  at  the  age  of  thirteen ;  with  the 
occurrence  of  ejaculation  lustful  pleasure  increased,  and  I 


MASOCHISM.  167 

masturbated  more  frequently,  often  two  or  three  times  a 
day.  From  my  twelfth  to  my  sixteenth  year,  during  the 
act  of  onanism,  I  always  had  the  idea  that  I  was  forced  to 
wear  girls'  boots.  The  sight  of  an  elegant  boot,  on  the 
foot  of  a  girl  at  all  pretty,  intoxicated  me  ;  I  inhaled  the 
odour  of  the  leather  with  avidity.  In  order  to  smell 
leather  during  the  act  of  onanism,  I  bought  a  pair  of 
leathern  cuffs,  which  I  smelled  while  I  masturbated.  My 
enthusiasm  for  ladies'  leathern  shoes  remains  the  same 
to-day ;  only,  since  my  seventeenth  year,  it  has  been 
coupled  with  the  wish  to  become  a  servant,  to  blacken  shoes  for 
distingidshed  ladies,  to  put  on  and  take  off  their  shoes  for  them,  etc. 

"  My  dreams  at  night  are  made  up  of  shoe-scenes  : 
either  I  stand  before  the  show-window  of  a  shoe-shop 
regarding  the  elegant  ladies'  shoes, — particularly  buttoned 
shoes, — or  I  He  at  a  lady's  feet  and  smell  and  hck  her 
shoes.  For  about  a  year  I  have  given  up  onanism  and  go 
ad  jmellas  ;  coitus  takes  place  by  means  of  intense  thought 
of  ladies'  buttoned  shoes  ;  or,  if  necessary,  I  take  the  shoe 
of  ihepuella  to  bed  with  me.  I  have  never  suffered  from 
my  former  onanism.  I  learn  easily,  have  a  good  memory, 
and  h.ave  never  had  headache  in  my  life.  This  much 
concerning  myself. 

"A  few  words  about  my  brother:  I  am  thoroughly 
convinced  that  he  is  also  a  shoe-fetichist.  Of  the  many 
facts  that  demonstrate  this  to  me,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
mention  that  it  is  a  great  pleasure  for  him  to  have  a  cer- 
tain cousin  (a  very  beautiful  girl)  tread  upon  him.  As  for 
the  rest,  I  might  undertake  to  tell  whether  a  man  who 
stands  before  a  shoe-shop  and  regards  the  shoes  on  exhibi- 
tion is  a  "  foot-lover  "  or  not.  This  anomaly  is  uncom- 
monly frequent.  When  in  the  circle  of  my  acquaintance 
I  turn  the  conversation  to  tlie  question  of  what  woman's 
charm  is,  I  very  frequently  hear  it  said  that  it  is  much 
more  in  attire  than  in  nuditv  ;  but  every  one  is  careful  not 
to  reveal  his  especial  fetich  I  think  an  uncle  of  mine  is 
also  a  shoe-fetichist." 


168  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Case  58.  Z.,  twenty-eight  years,  official,  comes  from 
neuropathic  mother.  Father  died  early  ;  as  to  his  family 
and  health  no  information  is  obtainable.  Z.  was  from 
early  childhood  nervous  and  impressionable ;  began  early 
to  masturbate  on  his  own  accord ;  with  puberty  he  became 
neurasthenic,  avoided  onanism  for  a  while,  but  was  troubled 
with  pollutions  very  frequently;  recovered  somewhat  at  a 
hydropathic  institute ;  experienced  strong  libido  towards 
woman,  but  never  succeeded  in  coitus  partly  on  account  of 
diffidence  in  his  power,  partly  from  fear  of  infection.  This 
upset  him  very  much,  especially  as  he  relapsed  faute  de 
mieux  into  his  secret  habit. 

Z.,  during  a  searching  consultation  about  his  vita 
sexualis,  proves  to  be  fetichist  as  well  as  masochist,  and 
reveals  interesting  relations  between  these  two  anomalies. 
He  asserts  that  since  his  ninth  year  he  has  had  a  weakness 
for  women's  shoes.  This,  he  claims,  was  caused  by  seeing 
at  that  time  a  lady  mounting  a  horse  whilst  an  attendant 
held  the  stirrup  for  her.  This  sight  excited  him  very 
much,  it  constantly  recurred  to  his  imagination,  ever 
increasing  his  lustful  feelings.  Later  on  his  sensations 
during  pollution  were  connected  with  women  in  high 
boots.  Laced  boots  with  high  heels  charm  him  most 
especially  when  this  idea  is  associated  with  the  lustful 
thought  that  a  woman  trod  upon  him  with  her  heel,  and 
that  he,  whilst  kneeling,  kissed  a  woman's  shoes.  The 
only  interesting  thing  about  a  woman  is  her  shoe.  Im- 
pressions of  odour  do  not  play  any  part  in  this.  The 
shoe  as  such  is  insufficient ;  it  must  be  worn  by  woman. 
Whenever  he  sees  a  woman  with  laced  boots  he  becomes 
excited  and  masturbates.  He  believes  that  he  could  not 
command  virile  power  with  any  woman  unless  her  feet 
were  clad  with  laced  boots. 

Faute  do  miciix  he  made  a  drawing  of  such  a  boot,  and 
whilst  masturbating  revels  in  gazing  at  it. 

The  following  case  is  not  only  instructive  because  of 


MASOCHISM.  1G9 

the  relations  shown  therein  to  exist  between  shoe-fetich- 
ism  and  masochism,  but  is  also  of  interest  on  account 
of  the  cure  of  the  vita  sexualis  brought  about  by  the  patient 
himself. 

Case  59.  Mr.  M.,  thirty- three  years  of  age,  of  good 
family,  which  on  the  maternal  side  for  generations  has 
shown  manifestations  of  psychical  degeneration,  extend- 
ing even  to  cases  of  moral  insanity.  The  mother  was 
neuropathic  and  characterologically  abnormal.  Himself 
strong,  well  built,  but  neuropathic ;  began  as  a  small  boy 
to  practise  onanism  spontaneously.  When  twelve  years 
of  age  peculiar  dreams  of  being  tortured,  whipped  and 
kicked  by  men  and  women,  especially  by  the  latter.  When 
about  fourteen  a  weakness  for  women's  boots  came  over 
him.  They  caused  sexual  excitement ;  he  was  forced  to 
kiss  and  press  them  to  him ;  this  produced  erection  and 
orgasm,  followed  by  masturbation.  But  these  acts  were 
also  accompanied  by  masochistic  ideas  of  being  kicked 
and  tortured. 

He  recognised  that  his  vita  sexiialis  was  abnormal, 
and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  sought  a  cure  in  coitus. 
He  found  himself  quite  impotent.  At  eighteen  another 
attempt  proved  a  failure ;  he  continued  masturbation 
assisted  by  shoe-fetichism  and  masochistic  fancies. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  heard  by  accident  a  man 
speak  of  flagellation  by  a  girl  as  a  means  to  bring  about 
virility.  He  now  felt  that  he  had  found  his  remedy,  and 
hastened  to  carry  out  the  advice  just  received,  but  was 
completely  disappointed.  The  whole  situation  disgusted 
him  so  thoroughly  that  no  erection  resulted. 

He  made  no  more  similar  attempts,  and  satisfied  him- 
self in  the  accustomed  manner.  When  he  was  twenty- 
seven  he  met  by  accident  a  sympathetic  and  tjalante  girl, 
became  intimate,  and  complained  to  her  about  his  impo- 
tence. She  laughed  at  him,  and  said  that  at  his  age  and 
with  his  constitution  this  was  impossible. 


170  PSYCHOFATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

He  gained  self-confidence,  but  only  after  fourteen  days 
of  the  greatest  intimacy  and  with  the  aid  of  shoe-fetichism 
and  masochistic  fancies  he  obtained  power.  This  lasted 
several  months.  His  condition  improved,  he  could  do 
without  the  secret  aids,  and  his  abnormal  fancies  became 
latent.  Then  for  three  years,  on  account  of  psychical 
impotence  with  other  women,  he  yielded  again  to  mastur- 
bation and  his  former  fetichism.  With  his  thirtieth  year 
he  entered  again  upon  sympathetic  relations  with  another 
girl ;  but  as  he  felt  himself  incapable  of  coitus  without  the 
aid  of  masochistic  situations,  he  instructed  her  to  treat 
him  as  her  slave.  She  played  her  part  well,  made  him 
kiss  her  feet,  whipped  him  with  a  switch,  and  trod  upon 
him.  But  it  was  all  in  vain.  He  only  felt  pain  and 
utter  confusion,  and  soon  had  these  assaults  discontinued. 
Ideal  masochistic  situations,  however,  aided  him  at  times 
to  accomplish  coitus. 

But  he  found  little  satisfaction  under  these  circum- 
stances. Then  he  came  across  my  book  on  "  Psychopathia 
Sexualis,"  and  found  out  the  real  condition  of  his  anomaly. 
He  wrote  to  his  former  acquaintance  and  entered  again 
upon  intimate  relations  with  her,  but  told  her  definitely 
that  the  former  absurd  scenes  of  "  slavery  "  must  not  be 
enacted  again,  and  that  under  no  circumstances,  even 
though  he  request  it  himself,  must  she  enter  upon  his 
masochistic  ideas. 

In  order  to  free  himself  of  shoe-fetichism  he  adopted 
the  following  plan.  He  bought  a  lady's  elegant  boot 
and  made  daily  these  suggestions  to  himself  whilst  kissing 
the  boot  repeatedly:  "Why  should  I  have  erections 
when  kissing  this  boot,  which  is  after  all  only  a  piece 
of  ordinary  leather?"  This  practice  Httle  by  Httle 
stripped  the  object  of  its  fetichistic  charm.  The  erections 
disappeared,  and  finally  the  boot  impressed  him  only  as 
a  boot.  Intimate  intercourse  with  the  sympathetic  per- 
son ran  parallel  with  this  suggestive  self-treatment,  and 
although  at  first  he  could  not  produce  virility  without  the 


MASOCHISM.  171 

assistance  of  masochistic  ideas,  these  latter  gradually 
disappeared. 

He  was  so  pleased  with  his  cure  that  he  came  to  thank 
me  for  the  valuable  help  he  had  found  in  the  perusal  of 
my  book,  which  had  shown  him  the  right  way  to  remedy 
his  defect. 

Since  then  he  has  written  that  he  is  completely  cured, 
that  he  meets  with  no  difficulties  in  his  sexual  intercourse, 
although  from  time  to  time  masochistic  representations 
faintly  reappear,  without,  however,  leaving  any  impression 
on  his  mind. 

Case  60.  Keported  by  Mantcgazza  in  his  "Anthropo- 
logical Studies,"  1886,  p.  110.  X.,  American,  of  good 
family,  mentally  and  morally  well  constituted ;  from  the 
beginning  of  puberty  capable  of  being  excited  sexually 
only  by  a  woman's  shoe.  Her  body  and  naked  or 
stockinged  foot  made  no  impression  on  him;  but  the 
foot,  when  covered  with  the  shoe,  or  a  shoe  alone,  in- 
duced erection  and  even  ejaculation.  Sight  alone  was 
sufficient  for  him  in  the  case  of  elegant  shoes — i.e.,  shoes 
of  black  leather,  buttoning  up  the  side  and  having  very 
high  heels.  His  sexual  desire  was  powerfully  excited  by 
touching,  kissing,  or  putting  such  shoes  on  his  own  feet. 
His  enjoyment  was  increased  by  driving  nails  through  the 
soles  so  that  their  points  would  penetrate  his  feet  while 
walking.  'This  caused  him  terrible  pain,  but  he  had  real 
lustful  feeling  at  the  same  time.  His  greatest  enjoyment 
was  to  kneel  down  before  the  elegantly  clad  feet  of  ladies 
and  have  them  step  on  him.  If  the  wearer  be  an  ugly 
woman,  the  shoes  would  not  affect  him,  and  his  fancy 
would  cool.  If  the  patient  had  empty  shoes  only  at  his 
disposal,  his  fancy  would  create  a  beautiful  woman  wear- 
ing them,  and  ejaculation  would  result.  His  nightly 
dreams  were  of  the  shoes  of  beautiful  women.  He  con- 
sidered the  exposure  of  ladies'  shoes  in  show-windows 
immoral;  while  talk  about  the  nature  of  woman  seemed 


172  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

to  him  harmless,  but  in  bad  taste.     X.  attempted  coitus 
several  times  without  success,  ejaculation  never  occurred. 

In  the  following  case  the  masochistic  as  well  as  the 
sadistic  element  is  in  evidence  (c/.  "  Torture  of  x\nimals," 
p.  109,  under  "  Sadism")  : — 

Case  61.  A  young,  powerful  man,  aged  twenty-six. 
Nothing  in  the  opposite  sex  excites  his  sensual  feehng 
except  elegant  shoes  on  the  feet  of  a  buxom  woman, 
especially  when  they  are  made  of  black  leather  and  have 
high  heels.  The  shoes  without  the  wearer  are  sufficient. 
It  gives  him  the  greatest  pleasure  to  see,  touch  and  kiss 
them.  The  feminine  foot,  when  bare  or  covered  with  a 
stocking,  has  no  effect  on  him.  Since  childhood  he  has 
had  a  weakness  for  ladies'  fine  shoes. 

X.  is  potent ;  during  the  sexual  act  the  female  must 
be  elegantly  dressed  and,  above  all,  have  on  pretty  shoes. 
At  the  height  of  sexual  excitement  cruel  thoughts  about 
the  shoes  arise.  He  is  forced  to  think  with  delight  of  the 
death  agonies  of  the  animal  from  which  the  leather  was 
taken.  Sometimes  he  is  imp3lled  to  take  chickens  and 
other  animals  with  him  to  Phryiie,  in  order  to  have  her 
tread  on  them  with  her  pretty  shoes  for  his  pleasure.  He 
calls  this  "sacrificing  to  the  feet  of  Venus".  At  other 
times  he  has  the  woman  walk  on  him  with  her  shoes  on, 
the  harder  the  better. 

Until  the  previous  year  it  was  sufficient — since  he 
did  not  take  the  slightest  sensual  pleasure  in  women — 
to  caress  ladies'  shoes  that  pleased  him,  thus  attaining 
ejaculation  and  complete  satisfaction  {Lombroso,  "Arch,  di 
psichiatria,"  ix.,  fascic.  iii.). 

The  next  case  reminds  one  of  case  60,  on  account 
of  the  interest  in  the  nails  of  the  shoes  (as  capable  of 
inflicting  pain)  ;  and  of  61,  on  account  of  the  shght 
acconipanying  sadistic  element : — 


MASOCHISM.  173 

Case  62.  X.,  aged  thirty-four,  married;  of  neuro- 
pathic parentage  ;  suffered  severely  from  convulsions  as 
a  child;  remarkably  precocious,  but  one-sided  in  develop- 
ment (could  read  at  age  of  three)  ;  nervous  from  childhood. 
At  the  age  of  seven  he  manifested  an  inclination  to  finger 
shoes,  especially  the  nails  of  women's  shoes.  The  mere 
sight,  but  still  more  the  touching,  of  the  shoe-nails  and 
counting  them,  gave  him  indescribable  pleasure. 

At  night  he  gave  himself  up  to  imagining  how  his 
cousins  had  their  measures  taken  for  shoes  ;  how  he 
nailed  horse-shoes  on  to  one  of  them  or  cut  her  feet  off. 
In  time  the  shoe-scenes  came  upon  him  during  the  day, 
and  involuntarily  induced  erection  and  ejaculation.  Fre- 
quently he  took  the  shoes  of  female  occupants  of  the 
house  ;  and  if  he  touched  them  with  his  penis  he  had  an 
ejaculation.  For  a  long  time,  when  a  student,  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  control  his  ideas  and  incHnations  ;  but 
there  came  a  time  when  he  was  compelled  to  listen  to 
female  footsteps  on  the  pavement,  which,  like  the  sight 
of  the  nails  being  driven  into  ladies'  shoes,  or  the  sight 
of  shoes  in  the  windows  of  the  boot-shops,  always  swayed 
him  with  feelings  of  lustful  pleasure.  He  married,  and 
during  the  first  months  of  his  married  life  was  free  from 
these  desires.  Gradually  he  became  hysteropathic  and 
neurasthenic. 

At  this  stage  he  began  to  have  hysterical  attacks  when 
the  shoemaker  spoke  to  him  of  nails  in  ladies'  shoes  or  of 
driving  nails  in  the  same.  The  reaction  was  still  greater 
if  he  chanced  to  see  a  pretty  lady  with  shoes  well  beset 
with  nails.  In  order  to  induce  ejaculation  it  was  only 
necessary  for  him  to  cut  soles  out  of  pasteboard  and  beset 
them  with  nails  ;  or  he  would  buy  ladies'  shoes,  have 
them  beset  with  nails  in  the  shop,  and  at  home  scrape 
them  on  the  ground,  and  finally  touch  them  with  the 
end  of  his  penis.  Moreover,  lustful  shoe-visions  occurred 
spontaneously,  in  which  he  satisfied  himself  by  masturba- 
tion. 


174  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

X.  is  otherwise  intelligent,  skilful  in  his  calling,  but 
powerless  in  combating  his  perverse  inclinations.  He 
presents  phimosis  ;  penis  short,  expanded  at  the  root,  and 
incapable  of  complete  erection.  One  day  the  patient 
allowed  himself  to  masturbate  when  excited  by  the  sight 
of  ladies'  shoes  beset  with  nails  in  front  of  the  window, 
of  a  shoe- shop,  and  this  lecame  a  criminal  {Blanche 
"  Archiv.  de  Neurologie,"  1882,  No.  22). 

Keference  may  be  made  here  to  a  case  of  inverted 
sexuality,  to  be  described  later,  in  which  the  prmcipal 
sexual  interest  was  in  the  boots  of  male  servants.  The 
desire  was  to  be  trod  upon  by  them,  etc. 

Case  63.  (Dr.  Pascal,  "  Igiene  dell'  amore ".)  X., 
merchant  ;  from  time  to  time  (but  particularly  in  bad 
weather)  had  the  following  desire  :  He  would  accost 
some  prostitute  and  ask  her  to  go  to  a  shoe-shop  with 
him,  where  he  would  buy  her  the  handsomest  pair  of 
shoes  made  of  patent  leather,  under  the  condition  that 
she  would  put  them  on  immediately.  When  this  had 
taken  place,  she  had  to  go  about  in  the  street,  walking 
in  manure  and  mud  as  much  as  possible,  in  order  to  soil 
the  shoes.  Then  X.  would  lead  the  person  to  a  hotel, 
and,  almost  before  they  had  reached  a  room,  he  would 
cast  himself  upon  her  feet,  feehng  an  extraordinary  plea- 
sure in  licking  them  with  his  lips.  When  he  had  cleansed 
the  shoes  in  this  manner,  he  paid  her  and  went  his  way 

From  these  cases  it  may  be  plainly  seen  that  the  shoe 
is  the  fetich  of  the  masochist,^  and  apparently  because  of 
the  relation  of  the  dressed  female  foot  to  the  idea  of  being 
trod  upon  and  other  acts  of  humilation.  When,  therefore, 
in  other  cases  of  shoe-fetichism,  the  female  shoe  appears 

1  Cf.  the  observation  of  the  author  in  the  "  Centralblatt  f.  d.  Krank- 
heiten  der  Harn-und  Sexualorgane,"  vi.,  7,  referring  to  a  masochist 
troubled  with  shoe-fetichism  which  excludes  all  doubts  in  this  respect. 


MASOCHISM.  ^  175 

alone  as  the  excitant  of  sexual  desire,  one  is  justified  in 
presuming  that  masochistic  motives  have  remained  latent. 
The  idea  of  being  trod  upon,  etc.,  remains  in  the  depths 
of  unconscious  life,  and  the  idea  of  the  shoe  alone,  the 
means  for  such  acts,  rises  into  consciousness.  Cases 
which  would  otherwise  remain  wholly  inexplicable  are 
thus  sufficiently  explained.  Here  one  has  to  do  with 
latent  masochism  which  may  always  be  assumed  as  the 
unconscious  motive,  when  not  infrequently  the  origin  of 
the  fetichism  can  be  proved  to  arise  from  an  association 
of  ideas  with  some  particular  event,  as  in  cases  93  and 
94. 

Such  cases  of  desire  for  ladies'  shoes,  without  conscious 
motive  and  without  demonstrable  origin,  are  really  in- 
numerable.^    Three  cases  are  here  given  as  examples  : — 

Case  64.  Minister,  aged  fifty.  From  time  to  time  he 
goes  to  houses  of  prostitution  under  the  pretext  of  renting 
a  room.  He  enters  it  with  a  girl.  Then  he  lustfully 
regards  her  shoes,  takes  one  off,  osculatur  et  mordet  caligam 
lihidine  captus.  Ad  genitalia  denique  caligam  premit,  cjacula 
semen  semineque  ejaculato  axillas  pectusque  terit ;  then  he 
comes  out  of  his  sexual  ecstasy.  He  begs  the  woman  to 
allow  him  to  keep  the  shoe  for  a  few  days,  and  always, 
at  the  appointed  time,  returns  it  with  thanks  (Cantaranot, 
"  La  Psichiatria,  v.,  p.  205). 

Case  65.  Z.,  Student,  aged  twenty-three  ;  comes  of  a 
tainted  family.  Sister  was  insane;  brother  suffered  with 
hysteria  virilis.  The  patient,  peculiar  from  childhood,  has 
frequent  attacks  of  hypochondriacal  depression,  tadiumvitcB, 
and  feels  that  he  is  being  shghted.  In  a  consultation  on 
account  of  mental  trouble,  I  find  him  a  very  perverse 

1  There  is  apparently  a  connection  between  foot-fetichism  and  the 
fact  that  certain  persons  of  this  liind,  whom  coitus  does  not  satisfy,  or 
who  are  unable  to  perform  it,  find  a  substitute  for  it  in  tritus  membri  inter 
l^edes  mulieria. 


176  PSTCHOPATHIA  SEXUALIS. 

hereditarily  predisposed  man,  with  neurasthenic  and  hypo- 
chondriacal symptoms.  A  suspicion  of  masturbation  is 
confirmed.  Patient  makes  interesting  disclosures  concern- 
ing his  vita  sexualis. .  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was  powerfully 
attracted  by  the  foot  of  one  of  his  comrades.  At  twelve 
he  became  an  enthusiast  for  ladies'  feet.  It  gave  him  a 
delightful  sensation  to  revel  in  the  sight  of  them.  At 
fourteen  he  began  to  masturbate,  thinking,  at  the  same 
time,  of  the  beautiful  foot  of  a  lady.  At  this  time  he  revelled 
in  the  sight  of  the  feet  of  his  three-year-old  sister.  The 
feet  of  other  females  that  attracted  him  induced  sexual 
excitement.  Only  women's  feet — no  other  part  of  them — 
interested  him.  The  thought  of  sexual  intercourse  with 
women  excited  his  disgust.  He  had  never  attempted 
coitus.  After  his  twelfth  year  he  had  no  interest  in  the 
feet  of  male  individuals.  The  style  of  covering  of  the 
female  foot  is  indifferent  to  him  ;  it  is  only  necessary  that 
the  person  seem  to  be  sympathetic.  The  thought  of 
enjoying  the  feet  of  prostitutes  was  disgusting  to  him. 
For  years  he  had  been  in  love  with  his  sister's  feet.  If 
he  could  but  obtain  her  shoes,  the  sight  of  them  power- 
fully excited  his  sensuality.  Kissing  or  embracing  his 
sister  did  not  have  this  effect.  His  greatest  delight  was 
to  embrace  and  kiss  the  foot  of  a  sympathetic  woman, 
when  ejaculation  would  result  with  a  lively  pleasurable 
sensation.  Often  he  was  impelled  to  touch  his  genitals 
with  one  of  his  sister's  shoes  ;  but  he  had  been  able,  thus 
far,  to  master  this  impulse,  especially  for  the  reason  that 
for  two  years  (owing  to  progressive  irritable  weakness  of 
the  genitals)  the  simple  sight  of  the  foot  had  induced 
ejaculation.  From  his  relatives  it  is  ascertained  that  the 
patient  has  a  silly  admiration  for  the  feet  of  his  sister ; 
so  that  she  avoids  him  and  seeks  to  hide  her  feet  from 
him.  The  patient  looked  upon  his  perverse  sexual  impulse 
as  pathological,  and  was  painfully  affected  by  the  fact  that 
his  vile  fancy  had  for  its  object  his  sister's  foot.  He 
avoided  opportunity  as  much  as  he  could,  and  sought  to 


MASOCHISM.  177 

help  the  matter  by  masturbation  when,  as  in  dreams 
accompanied  by  pollution,  ladies'  feet  filled  his  imaj^ina- 
tion.  However,  when  the  impulse  became  too  powerful 
he  could  not  avoid  gaining  a  partial  sight  of  his  sister's 
foot.  Immediately  after  ejaculation  he  would  become 
angry  with  himself  at  having  been  weak  again.  His 
partiality  for  his  sister's  foot  had  cost  him  many  a  sleep- 
less night.  He  often  wondered  that  he  could  still  love 
his  sister.  Although  it  seemed  right  to  him  that  she 
should  conceal  her  feet  from  him,  yet  he  was  often 
irritated  because  the  concealment  caused  him  to  have 
pollutions.  The  patient  gives  assurances,  confirmed  by 
his  relatives,  of  being  moral  in  other  respects. 

Case  66.  S.,  New  York,  is  accused  of  being  a  street- 
thief.  Numerous  cases  of  insanity  in  his  ancestry  ;  father, 
brother  and  sister  mentally  abnormal.  At  seven  years, 
violent  cerebral  concussion  twice.  At  thirteen,  struck 
by  a  beam.  At  fourteen  S.  had  violent  attacks  of  head- 
ache. Accompanying  these  attacks,  or  immediately  after 
them,  peculiar  impulse  to  take  the  shoes  of  female 
members  of  the  family — as  a  rule,  only  one  at  a  time — 
and  hide  them  in  some  out-of-the  way  corner.  Taken  to 
task,  he  would  lie,  or  declare  that  he  had  no  recollection 
of  the  affair.  The  passion  for  shoes  was  unconquerable, 
and  made  its  appearance  every  three  or  four  months. 
On  one  occasion  he  attempted  to  take  a  shoe  from  the 
foot  of  one  of  the  servants,  and  on  another  he  stole  his 
sister's  shoe  from  her  bedroom.  In  the  spring  two  ladies 
had  their  shoes  torn  from  their  feet  in  the  open  street. 
In  August,  S.  left  his  home  early  in  the  morning  to  go 
to  his  work  as  a  printer.  A  moment  afterwards  he  tore 
the  shoe  from  a  girl's  foot  in  the  open  street,  fled  to  his 
place  of  work,  and  there  was  arrested  as  a  street-thief. 
He  declared  that  he  did  not  know  much  of  his  act ;  that 
it  had  come  upon  him  like  a  stroke  of  lightning,  at  the 
sight  of  the  shoe,  that  he  must  possess  himself  of  it,  but 

12 


178  PSYCHOPATHIA   SBXUALIS. 

for  what  purpose  he  did  not  know.  He  had  acted  while 
in  a  state  of  unconsciousness.  The  shoe,  as  he  correctly 
indicated,  was  found  in  his  coat.  In  confinement  he  was 
so  much  excited  mentally  that  an  outbreak  of  insanity 
was  feared.  Discharged,  he  stole  his  wife's  shoes  while 
she  was  asleep.  His  moral  character  and  habits  of  life 
were  blameless.  He  was  an  intelligent  workman  ;  but 
irregularity  of  employment,  that  soon  followed,  made  him 
confused  and  incapable  of  work.  Pardoned  {Nichols,  "  Am. 
Journal  of  Insanity,"  1859;  Beck,  "  Med.  Jurisprudence," 
vol.  i.,  p.  732,  1860). 

Dr.  Pascal  (oj).  cit.)  has  some  similar  cases,  and  many 
others  have  been  mentioned  to  me  by  colleagues  and 
patients. 

(c)  Disgusting  Acts  for  the  Purpose  of  Self- Humiliation  and 
Sexual  Gratification — Latent  Masochism — Koprolaipiia. 

Whilst  in  the  manifestations  thus  far  described  the 
a3sthetic  sentiment  is  at  least,  so  far  as  appearances  go, 
saved,  and  the  lustful  situation  is  kept  within  the  confines 
of  a  symbolic  or  ideal  character,  there  are  many  cases  in 
which  the  desire  for  sexual  gratification  by  self-humifia- 
tion  before  woman  finds  expression  in  acts  which  defile 
the  moral  and  assthetic  feelings  of  the  normal  man. 

Impressions  obtained  through  the  senses  of  smell  and 
taste,  which  in  the  normal  man  produce  only  feelings 
of  nausea  and  disgust,  are  made  the  basis  of  the  most 
vivitl  emotions  of  lust,  producing  in  the  perverse  subject 
mighty  impulses  to  orgasm  and  even  ejaculation. 

An  analogy  with  the  excesses  of  rehgious  enthusiasm 
can  be  even  traced.  The  religious  enthusiast,  Antoinette 
Bouvignon  de  la  Porte,  used  to  mix  with  her  food  excreta 
in  order  to  mortify  herself  {Zimmermann,  op.  cit,  p.  124). 
The  beatified  Marie  Alacoque  ficked  up  with  her  tongue 
t]-ie  excrements  of  sick  people  to  "  mortify"  herself,  and 


MASOCHISM.  179 

sucked  their  festering  toes.  The  analogy  with  sadism  is 
also  of  interest  in  this  connection  because  here  also  mani- 
festations in  the  sense  of  vampyrism  and  anthropophagy 
arising  from  disgusting  appetites  of  the  organs  of  taste 
and  olfaction  produce  lustful  feelings  (c/.  case  59,  Bichel, 
Menesclou,  L  Beob.  18,  19,  20,  22).  This  impulse  to  dis- 
gusting acts  might  well  be  named  koprolagnia.  Its 
relations  to  Masochism  (as  a  subordinate  form)  have  been 
indicated  in  case  43.  The  subsequent  observation  will 
render  them  clearer. 

In  some  cases  it  would  appear  as  if  the  masochistic 
element  were  unknown  to  the  perverse  subject  and  the 
instinct  for  nauseating  acts  alone  were  present  (latent 
masochism).  A  striking  instance  of  masochistic  kopro- 
lagnia (combined  with  perverse  sexuality)  may  be  found  in 
case  114  of  the  eighth  edition  of  this  work.  The  subject 
of  this  case  revels  not  only  in  the  thought  of  being  the 
slave  of  the  beloved,  referring  for  this  purposp  to  Sacher- 
Masoch's  "  Venus  in  Furs,"  sed  etiam  sibi  fingit  amatum 
poscere  ut  crepidas  sudore  diffluentes  olfaciat  ejimque  ^tercore 
vescatur.  Deinde  narrat,  quia  non  habeat,  qua  confimjat  et 
exoplet,  eoricm  loco  suas  crepidas  sudore  infectas  olfacere  suoque 
stercurc  vesci,  inter  qua  facta  pene  erecto  se  voluptate  pertur- 
bari  scmenque  ejaculari. 

Case  67.  Masochism — Koprolagnia. — Z.,  fifty-two  years 
of  age  ;  high  position  ;  father  phthisical  ;  family  claimed  to 
be  untainted  ;  always  nervous,  only  child,  deposes  to  have 
had  peculiar  emotions  since  he  was  seven,  when  by  chance 
"he  saw  the  servants  take  off  their  boots  and  stockings 
preparatory  to  scrubbing  the  floors  of  the  house.  Once 
he  begged  one  of  the  maids  to  show  him  her  toes  and 
feet  before  she  washed  them.  When  he  began  going  to 
school  and  reading  books,  he  felt  forcibly  drawn  to  litera- 
ture which  contained  descriptions  of  refined  cruelty  and 
tortures,  especially  when  they  were  executed  at  the  de- 
mands of  women.     He  simply  devoured  novels  dealing 


180  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

with  slavery  and  bondage,  and  whilst  reading  them,  he 
became  so  excited  that  he  began  masturbation.  What 
excited  him  most  was  to  imagine  that  he  was  the  slave 
of  a  pretty  young  lady  of  his  acquaintance  who  allowed 
him  after  a  long  walk,  pedes  lamherc,^  pracipue  platitas  et 
spatia  inter  digitos.  He  thought  of  the  young  lady  as 
particularly  cruel  and  enjoying  tortures  and  whippings 
meted  out  to  him.  These  fancies  were  accompanied  by 
masturbation.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  whilst  revelling  in 
such  fictions,  he  let  a  poodle  dog  hck  his  feet.  One  day 
he  noticed  how  a  pretty  servant  girl  in  his  own  house 
let  a  poodle  dog  hck  her  toes  whilst  she  was  reading. 
This  caused  in  him  erection  and  ejaculation.  He  per- 
suaded the  girl  to  let  this  happen  frequently  whilst  he 
looked  on.  After  a  while  he  took  the  place  of  the  poodle 
and  ejaculated  every  time. 

From  his  fifteenth  to  his  eighteenth  year  he  was  at 
a  boarding-school  and  had  no  opportunity  to  practise  such 
evil  habits.  He  was  satisfied  to  excite  himself  every  few 
weeks  with  the  perusal  of  literature  treating  on  cruelties 
committed  by  women,  imagining  all  the  time  that  he 
was  licking  the  feet  of  such  women.  This  produced 
ejaculation  accompanied  by  the  highest  lustful  excitement. 
The  female  organs  had  never  any  attraction  for  him,  and 
he  never  felt  sexually  drawn  towards  men.  When  he  had 
attained  puberty  he  solicited  girls  and  had  coitus  with 
them,  but  always  sucked  their  feet  before  the  act.  He 
would  do  this  also,  inter  actum,  and  aske  1  the  girls  to  tell 
him  with  what  cruelties  they  would  afflict  him  in  case 
he  did  not  lick  their  toes  quite  clean.  Z.  affirms  that  he 
very  often  succeeded  in  this,  and  that  the  whole  action 
was  .always  pleasing  to  the  girls. 

He  was  especially  attracted  by  the  feet  of  well-bred 
women  that  were  deformed  by  narrow  boots  and  had  not 

^This  disgusting  impulse  is  also  referred  to  in  case  68  of  ttio  eighth 
edition  of  this  work.  It  seems  to  occur  especially  with  koprolaguists  and 
fetichists. 


MASOCHISM.  181 

been  washed  for  several  days,  but  he  could  stomach  only 
"  slight,  natural  deposits,  such  as  one  may  find  upon  the 
feet  of  clean  well-bred  ladies,  also  discolorations  from  the 
stockings,  whilst  sweating  feet  excited  him  only  in  imagin- 
ation, but  in  reahty  disgusted  him".  "Cruel  tortures" 
also  existed  for  him  only  in  imagination  as  a  means  to 
excitement  ;  he  abhorred  them  and  never  craved  for  them 
in  reality.  Nevertheless  they  played  a  pre-eminent  part 
in  his  fancy,  and  he  never  neglected  to  mstruct  the  women 
with  whom  he  kept  in  masochistic  touch  how  they  were 
to  write  him  threatening  letters.  From  the  collection  of 
such  letters  placed  at  my  disposal  by  Z.  one  is  given  here 
because  ii;  clearly  illustrates  the  line  of  thought  and 
sentiment  : — 

"  Lambitor  sudoris  pedum  mulierum  !  I  take  the  utmost 
dehght  m  conjuring  up  the  moment  when  you  will  Uck 
my  toes,  especially  after  a  long  walk.      A  facsimile  of  my 
foot  I  shall  send  you  soon.     It  will  intoxicate  me  like 
nectar  when  you  will  lick  up  my  s2idor  pedum.    And  if  you 
will  not  do  it  voluntarily,  I  shall  force  you  to  it ;  I  shall 
treat  you  as  my  meanest  slave.     You  shall  witness  how 
another  favoritus  s^idorem  pedum   mihi  lamhit,   whilst  you 
shall  whine  like  a  dog  under  the  lashes  of  my  servants. 
I   shall   declare   you    outlawed.     I    shall   find    the   most 
exquisite  pleasure  in  seeing  you  in  pain,  breathing  your 
last  under  the  most  cruel  tortures,   licking  my  toes  in 
extreme  agony.  .  .  .  You  challenge  my  cruelty— very  well, 
I  shall  crush  you  under  my  foot  like  a  worm.  .  .  .  You 
ask  me  for  a  stocking  ?  I  shall  wear  it  longer  than  usual. 
But  I  demand  that  you  kiss  it   and  lick  it;    that  you 
soak  the  foot  of  it  in  water  and  then  drink  the  latter. 
If  you  do  not  carry  out  my  pleasure  absolutely,  I  shall 
cliastise   you   with   my  riding-whip.     I   demand   uncon- 
ditional obedience.     If  you  do  not  obey,  I  shall  have  you 
whipped  with  the  knout,   I  shall  make  you  walk  over 
a  floor  well-spiked  with  sharp  nails,  I   shall  have  you 
bastinaded    and   cast  to  the  lions  in  the  cage.     It  will 


182  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

give  me  the  utmost  delight  to  see  how  the  wild  beasts 
enjoy  your  flesh." 

In  spite  of  such  ridiculous  tirades,  ordered  by  himself, 
Z.  looks  upon  them  as  a  means  to  satisfy  his  perverse 
sexuality.  These  sexual  monstrosities,  which  to  him  are 
only  a  congenital  anomaly,  he  does  not  consider  unnatural, 
although  he  admits  them  to  be  disgusting  to  the  normally 
constituted  man.  Otherwise  he  appears  to  be  a  decent 
sort  of  a  man  with  rather  refined  manners,  but  his  other- 
wise meagre  aesthetic  sentiments  are  overbalanced  by 
sensuality  which  gratifies  his  perverse  desires. 

Z.  gave  me  an  insight  into  his  correspondence  with 
the  Hterary  champion  of  masochism,  Sacher-Masoch. 

One  of  these  letters,  dated  1888,  shows  as  a  heading 
the  picture  of  a  luxuriant  woman,  with  imperial  bearing, 
only  half  covered  with  furs  and  holding  a  riding-whip  as 
if  ready  to  strike.  Sacher-Masoch  contends  that  "  the 
passion  to  play  the  slave  "  is  widespread,  especially  among 
the  Germans  and  Eussians.  In  this  letter,  the  history  of 
a  noble  Eussian  is  related  who  loved  to  be  tied  and 
whipped  by  several  beautiful  women.  One  day  he  found 
his  ideal  in  a  pretty  young  French  woman  and  took  her 
to  his  home. 

According  to  Sacher-Masoch,  a  Danish  woman  yielded 
her  favour  to  no  man  until  he  acted  the  part  of  slave  to 
her  for  a  considerable  time.  Amantcs  coagere  solebat,  ut 
vedcs  suos  ct  j)ocliccm  lambeant.  She  had  her  adorers  put 
in  chains  and  whipped  until  they  obeyed  her  lamhmdo 
-pedes.  Once  she  had  the  "slave"  fastened  to  her  bed- 
posts and  thus  made  him  witness  her  granting  the  highest 
favour  to  another.  After  the  latter  left  her  she  had  the 
fettered  "  slave  "  whipped  by  her  servants  until  he  yielded 
lamherc  podicem  domina. 

If  these  assertions  were  true  which,  of  course,  cannot 
be  accepted  from  the  poet  without  definite  proof,  they 
would  constitute  remarkable  proofs  of  sadismus  fcminarum. 
At  any  rate  they  are  psychologically  interesting  instances 


MASOCHISM.  183 

of  thonc^hts  and  sentiments  specific  to  masochism  (my 
own  observations,  "  Centralblatt  fiir  Krankheiten  der 
Harn-  mid  Sexualorgane,"  vi.,  7). 

Case  68.  Z.,  aged  twenty-four ;  Eussian  civil  servant ; 
mother  nem'opathic,  father  psychopathic.  Z.  is  intelhgent, 
of  refined  manners,  physically  normal,  of  pleasing  appear- 
ance and  aesthetic  tastes ;  never  had  a  severe  illness. 
Claims  to  have  been  of  a  nervous  disposition  from  infancy  ; 
has  like  his  mother  neuropathic  eyes  and  latterly  suffers 
from  cerebral  asthenic  troubles.  Perversio  vita  sexualis 
causes  him  much  worry,  bordering  on  despair,  deprives 
him  of  self-esteem  and  tempts  him  to  suicide. 

What  oppresses  him  is  the  unnatural  desire  recurring 
every  four  weeks  for  mictio  mulieris  in  os  suum.  As  cause 
he  gives  the  following  facts,  interesting  on  account  of 
their  genetic  importance.  When  six  years  of  age  he  put 
his  hand  by  accident  sub  podiccm  jyucllcB  who  sat  next  to 
him  in  school.  This  caused  him  pleasure  and  he  repeatedly 
did  so.  The  memory  of  these  pleasant  situations  strongly 
aroused  his  fancy. 

Puerum  decern  annorum  serva  educatrix  libidine  mota  ad 
corpus  stium  appressit  et  digiUtm  ejus  in  vaginam  introduxit. 
Qimm  postoa  fortnitu  digito  ?iasum  tetigit,  odorc  ejus  valde 
dclectatus  fuit. 

This  immoral  act  developed  into  a  lustful  fancy 
which  made  him  believe  vincUis  inter  femora  imdieris 
cumhere,  coactus,  ut  dormiat  sub  ejus  podice  et  ut  bibat  ejus 
urinam. 

With  the  thirteenth  year  these  fictions  disappeared. 
At  fifteen  first  coitus,  at  sixteen  second,  quite  normal  and 
without  fanciful  representations. 

Deficiente  pccunia  et  magna  libidine  perturbatus  mas- 
tubartionc  earn  satiabat. 

At  seventeen  perverse  ideas  recurred.  They  became 
more  powerful   and  he   struggled  against  them  in  vain. 

At  eighteen  he  yielded  to  the  impulse.     Quum  mulier 


184  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

qttcedam  in  os  ei  minxit,  maxivia  voluptate  affectus  est.  He 
then  had  coitus  with  the  vile  woman.  Since  then,  he 
felt  the  necessity  to  repeat  the  disgusting  act  every  four 
weeks. 

After  indulging  in  this  perverse  action  he  was  ashamed 
of  himself  and  disgust  overcame  him.  Ejaculations  ac- 
companied the  act  but  seldom,  but  it  produced  erections 
and  orgasm  and  whenever  ejaculation  missed,  he  gratified 
himself  with  coitus. 

During  the  intervals  between  these  excessive  impulses 
he  was  quite  free  from  perverse  tlioughts  and  desires  as 
well  as  from  ideal  masochism  and  fetichistic  relations. 
Libido  during  these  intervals  is  but  slight  and  easily  gratified 
in  the  normal  fashion  without  the  assistance  of  perverse 
fiction.  He  often  travelled  miles  from  his  country  seat  to 
the  city  to  satisfy  his  cravings  when  these  spells  came 
over  him. 

Again  and  again  the  patient — refined  as  he  was  and 
disgusted  with  his  own  perversity — sought  to  resist  the 
morbid  impulse,  but  in  vain  ;  restlessness,  anxiety,  trem- 
bling and  somnolence  made  life  unbearable,  until  he 
found  final  release  from  the  psychical  tension  in  the  gratifi- 
cation of  his  morbid  cravings  at  any  price.  He  attained 
this  easily,  but  was  at  once  overcome  with  self-reproach 
and  contempt  for  himself  bordering  even  on  tadium  vitcs. 
These  mental  struggles  have  enervated  the  patient  and 
he  complains  of  debility  of  memory,  absent-mindedness, 
mental  impotence,  and  cerebral  pressure.  His  last  hope 
is  that  medical  science  may  succeed  in  freeing  him  from 
this  monstrous  affliction  and  in  re-estabhshing  his  moral 
self. 

Other  cases  of  Gantarano's  (loc  cit.)  belong  here  {niictio 
even  defacatio  puellcB  ad  linguam  viri  ante  actum)  consump- 
tion of  confects  smelling  like  faeces,  in  order  to  become 
potent  ;  and  also  the  following  case,  likewise  communi- 
cated to  me  by  a  physician  : — 


MASOCHISM.  185 

"  A  Eussian  prince,  who  was  very  decrepit,  was  ac- 
customed to  have  his  mistress  tm-n  her  back  to  him  and 
defecate  on  his  breast ;  this  being  the  only  way  in  which 
he  could  excite  the  remnant  of  libido." 

Another  supported  a  mistress  in  unusually  brilhant 
style,  with  the  condition  that  she  ate  marchpane  exclu- 
sively. Ut  libidinosus  fiat  et  ejaculare.  possit  excrementa 
femincs  ore  excijjit.  A  Brazilian  physician  tells  me  of 
several  cases  of  defcecatio  fcmincB  in  os  viri  that  have  come 
to  his  knowledge.  Such  cases  occur  everywhere,  and  are 
not  at  all  infrequent.  All  kinds  of  secretions — saliva, 
nasal  mucus,  and  even  aural  cerumen — are  used  in  this 
way  and  swallowed  with  pleasure .;  and  oscula  ad  nates  and 
even  ad  anum  are  indulged  in.  Dr.  Moll  {op.  cit.,  p.  135) 
reports  the  same  thing  of  a  man  affected  with  contrary 
sexuality.  The  perverse  desire  to  practise  cunnilingus, 
which  is  very  wide-spread,  probably  has  its  root  frequently 
in  masochistic  impulses. 

In  the  "  Centralblatt  fiir  die  Krankheiten  der  Harn-  und 
Sexualorgane,"  vi.,  7,  p.  355,  I  have  given  such  a  case  of 
masochism  combined  with .  shoe-  and  foot-fetichism  and 
koprolagnia  (desire  for  sudorem  pedem  and  axillarum  fcmmcB 
for  the  fcetor  ctmni  et  awi_  going  as  far  even  as  to  cunnilingus 
et  anilingtcs  !)  caused  by  indifference  to  coitus. 

Evidently  the  case  quoted  by  Cantarano  ("  La  Psichia- 
tria,"  v.,  p.  207)  belongs  here  also,  in  which  coitus  is 
preceded  by  morsus  et  succio  of  the  woman's  toes  which 
have  not  been  washed  for  some  time.  Also  a  case 
quoted  by  me  in  the  eighth  edition  of  this  book,  cf.  ibid., 
case  68. 

Stefanoiosky  ("  Archives  de  I'Anthropologie  criminelle," 
1892,  vol.  vii.)  knows  of  a  Russian  merchant  qui  valde 
delectatus  fuit  bibcndo  ea  qua  puella  lupanarii  jusso  sua  in  vas 
spuerunt. 

Neri,  "  Archiv.  delle  psicopatie  sessuali,"  p.  108: 
Workman,  aged  twenty-seven,  heavily  tainted,  tic  in  the 


186  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

face,  troubled  with  phobia  (especially  agoraphobia)  and 
alcoholism.  Sumvia  ei  fit  voluptas,  si  meretrices  in  os  ejus 
faces  et  urinas  deponunt.  Vinum  supra  corpus  scortorum 
effusum  defi,uens  ore  ad  meretricis  cunnum  adposito  excipit. 
Valde  delectatur,  si  sang^dncm  menstrualem  ex  vagina  effluentem 
sugere  potest.  He  is  fetichist  of  ladies'  gloves  and  shppers, 
osculatur  calceos  sororis,  cujzis  pedes  sudore  madent.  Libido 
ejus  turn  demum  maxime  satiatur,  si  a  puellis  insultatur,  immo 
vero  verberatur,  ut  sanguis  exeat.  Dum  verberatur,  genibiis 
nixus  veniam  et  clementiam  puellce  expetit,  dcinde  masturbare 
incipit. 

Pelanda  ("  Archivio  di  Psichiatria,"  x.,  fascicolo  3,  4) 
relates  the  following  case  : — 

Case  69.  W.,  aged  forty-five,  predisposed,  was  given 
to  masturbation  at  the  age  of  eight.  A  dccimo  sexto  anno 
libidincs  suas  bibendo  recentcm  feminarum  urinam  satiavit. 
Tanta  erat  voluptas  urinam  bibentis  ut  nee  aliquid  olfaceret 
nee  saperet,  hac  faciens.  After  drinking  he  always  experi- 
enced disgust  and  ill-feeling,  and  made  firm  resolutions 
to  do  it  no  more  in  the  future.  Once  he  had  the  same 
pleasure  in  drinking  the  urine  of  a  nine-year-old  boy, 
with  whom  he  once  practised /cZZa^w.  The  patient  suffers 
with  epileptic  insanity. 

Still  other  older  cases  belong  here,  which  Tardieu 
("  ]j^tude  medico-legale  sur  les  attentats  aux  mcBurs,"  p. 
206)  observed  in  senile  individuals.  He  describes  as 
"  Renifleurs  "  persons  "  qui  in  secretos  locos  nimirum  theatro- 
rum  piorticos  convenientes  q^co  compilures  feminoi  ad  micturiendum 
festinant,  per  nares  urinali  odore  cxcitati,  illico  se  inviccm 
jjolluunt'\  The  "  Stercoraires  "  that  Taxll  ("  La  prosti- 
tution contemporaine  ")  mentions  are,  in  relation  to  this 
subject,  unique, 

Eulenburg  relates  farther  monstrous  facts  belonging  to 
this  section.  Gf.  Ziilzers  "Klin.  Handbuch  der  Harn- 
und  Scxualorgane,"'  iv.,  p.  47. 


MASOCHISM.  187 

(d)  Masochism  in  Women. 

In  woman  voluntary  subjection  to  the  opposite  sex  is 
a  physiological  phenomenon.  Owing  to  her  passive  role 
in  procreation  and  long-existent  social  conditions,  ideas  of 
subjection  are,  in  woman,  normally  connected  with  the 
idea  of  sexual  relations.  They  form,  so  to  speak,  the 
harmonics  which  determine  the  tone-quality  of  feminine 
feeling. 

Any  one  conversant  with  the  history  of  civilisation 
knows  in  what  a  state  of  absolute  subjection  woman  was 
always  kept  until  a  relatively  high  degree  of  civihsation 
was  reached ;  ^  and  an  attentive  observer  of  life  may  still 
easily  recognise  how  the  custom  of  unnumbered  genera- 
tions, in  connection  with  the  passive  role  with  which 
woman  has  been  endowed  by  Nature,  has  given  her  an 
instinctive  inclination  to  voluntary  subordination  to  man  ; 
he  will  notice  that  exaggeration  of  customary  gallantry 
is  very  distasteful  to  women,  and  that  a  deviation  from 
it  in  the  direction  of  masterful  behaviour,  though  loudly 
reprehended,  is  often  accepted  with  secret  satisfaction.^ 
Under  the  veneer  of  polite  society  the  instinct  of  feminine 
servitude  is  everywhere  discernible. 

Thus  it  is  easy  to  regard  masochism  in  general  as 
a  pathological  growth  of  specific  feminine  mental  ele- 
ments,— as  an  abnormal  intensification  of  certain  features 
of  the  psycho-sexual  character  of  woman, — and  to  seek  its 
primary  origin  in  that  sex  {v.  infra,  p.  199).  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  held  to  be  established  that,  in  woman,  an  inclina- 

'  The  laws  of  the  early  middle  ages  gave  the  husband  the  riglit  tc 
kill  the  wife ;  those  of  the  later  middle  ages,  the  right  to  heat  her.  The 
latter  right  was  used  freely,  even  by  those  of  high  standing  (c/.  Sdmltze, 
"Das  hofische  Leben  zur  Zeit  dcs  Minnesangs,"  Bd.  i.,  p.  1G3  ct  seq.). 
Yet,  by  the  side  of  this,  the  paradoxical  chivalry  of  the  middle  ages  stand; 
unexplained  (v.  infra,  p.  198). 

^  C/.  Lady  Milford's  words  in  Sc/wW^r's  "  Kabale  und  Licl)o":  "We 
women  can  only  choose  between  ruling  and  serving;  but  tlie  highest 
pleasure  power  affords  is  but  a  miserable  substitute,  if  the  greater  joy  ol 
being  tlic  slaves  of  a  man  we  love  is  denied  us  I  "  (Act  II.,  Scene  I.). 


188  PSTCHOrATTIIA    SFXUALIS. 

tion  to  subordination  to  man  (which  may  be  regarded  as 
an  acquired,  purposeful  arrangement,  a  phenomenon  of 
adaptation  to  social  requirements)  is  to  a  certain  extent  a 
normal  manifestation. 

The  reason  that,  under  such  circumstances,  the 
"  poetry"  of  the  symbolic  act  of  subjection  is  not  reached, 
lies  partly  in  the  fact  that  man  has  not  the  vanity  of  that 
weakling  who  would  improve  the  opportunity  by  the  dis- 
play of  his  power  (as  the  ladies  of  the  middle  ages  did 
towards  the  love-serving  knights),  but  prefers  to  reahse 
solid  advantages.  The  barbarian  has  his  wife  plough  for 
him,  and  the  civilised  lover  speculates  about  her  dowry ; 
she  willingly  endures  both. 

Cases  of  pathological  increase  of  this  instinct  of  sub- 
jection, in  the  sense  of  feminine  masochism,  are  probably 
frequent  enough,  but  custom  represses  their  manifesta- 
tion. Many  young  women  like  nothing  better  than  to 
kneel  before  their  husbands  or  lovers.  Among  all  Slavs 
of  the  lower  classes  it  is  said  that  the  wives  feel  hurt  if 
they  are  not  beaten  by  their  husbands.  A  Hungarian 
official  informs  me  that  the  peasant  women  of  the  Somo- 
gyer  Comitate  do  not  think  they  are  loved  by  their 
husbands  until  they  have  received  the  first  box  on  the  ear 
as  a  sign  of  love. 

It  would  probably  be  difficult  for  the  physician  to  find 
cases  of  feminine  masochism.^  Intrinsic  and  extraneous 
restraints — modesty  and  custom — naturally  constitute  in 
woman  insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  expression  of 
perverse  sexual  instinct.  Thus  it  happens  that,  up  to  the 
present  time,  but  two  cases  of  masochism  in  woman  have 
been  scientifically  established. 

Case  70.  Miss  X.,  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  her  mother 

^  Seydel,  "  Vierteljahresschr.  f.  ger.  Med.,"  1893,  vol.  ii.,  quotes  as  an 
instance  of  masochism  the  patient  of  Dieffenbach,  who  repeatedly  and  pur- 
posely dislocated  her  arm  in  order  to  experience  lustful  sensations  when  it 
was  being  reduced,  anesthetics  not  being  known  then. 


MASOCHISM.  189 

was  a  morphia  maniac  and  died  some  years  ago  from  nerv- 
ous disorders.  Her  uncle  (mother's  side)  is  also  a  mor- 
phia-eater. A  brother  of  the  girl  is  neurasthenic,  another 
is  a  masochist  (wishes  to  be  beaten  with  a  cane  by  proud, 
noble  ladies).  Miss  X.  has  never  had  a  severe  illness,  but 
at  times  suffers  from  headaches.  She  considers  herself  to 
be  physically  sound,  but  periodically  insane,  viz.,  when  she 
is  haunted  by  the  fancies  which  she  thus  describes : — 

Since  her  earhest  youth  she  fancied  herself  being 
whipped.  She  simply  revels  in  these  ideas,  and  has  the 
most  intense  desire  to  be  severely  punished  with  a  rattan 
cane. 

This  desire,  she  claims,  originated  from  the  fact  that 
at  the  age  of  five  a  friend  of  her  father's  took  her  for  fun 
across  his  knees,  pretending  to  whip  her.  Since  then  she 
has  longed  for  the  opportunity  of  being  caned,  but  to  her 
great  regret  her  wish  has  never  been  realised.  At  these 
periods  she  imagines  herself  as  absolutely  helpless  and 
fettered.  The  mere  mention  of  the  words  "rattan  cane" 
and  "  to  whip  "  cause  her  intense  excitement.  Only  for 
the  last  two  years  she  associates  these  ideas  with  the  male 
sex.  Previously  she  only  thought  of  a  severe  school- 
mistress or  simply  a  hand. 

Now  she  wishes  to  be  the  slave  of  a  man  whom 
she  loves ;  she  would  kiss  his  feet  if  he  would  only  whip 
her. 

She  does  not  understand  that  these  manifestations  are 
of  a  sexual  nature. 

A  few  quotations  from  her  letters  are  characteristic  as 
bearing  upon  the  masochistic  character  of  this  case  : — 

"In  former  years  I  seriously  contemplated  going  into 
a  lunatic  asylum  whenever  these  ideas  worried  me.  I  fell 
upon  this  idea  whilst  reading  how  the  director  of  an 
insane  asylum  pulled  a  lady  by  the  hair  from  her  bed  and 
beat  her  with  a  cane  and  a  riding-whip.  I  longed  to  be 
treated  in  a  similar  manner  at  such  an  institute,  and  have 
therefore  unconsciously  associated  my  ideas  with  the  male 


190  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

sex.    I  liked,  however,  best  to  think  of  brutal,  uneducated 
female  warders  beating  me  mercilessly. 

"  Lying  (in  fancy)  before  him,  he  puts  one  foot  on  my 
neck  whilst  I  kiss  the  other.  I  revel  in  the  idea  of  being 
whipped  by  him  ;  but  this  changes  often,  and  I  fancy 
quite  different  scenes  in  which  he  beats  me.  At  times  I 
take  the  blows  as  so  many  tokens  of  love — he  is  at  first 
extremely  kind  and  tender,  and  then,  in  the  excess  of  his 
love,  he  beats  me.  I  fancy  that  to  beat  me  for  love's  sake 
gives  him  the  highest  pleasure.  Often  I  have  dreamed 
that  I  was  his  slave — but,  mind  you,  not  his  female  slave  ! 
For  instance,  I  have  imagined  that  he  was  Kobinson  and 
I  the  savage  that  served  him.  I  often  look  at  the  pictures 
in  which  Kobinson  puts  his  foot  on  the  neck  of  the  savage. 
I  now  find  an  explanation  of  these  strange  fancies  :  I  look 
upon  woman  in  general  as  low,  far  below  man ;  but  I  am 
otherwise  extremely  proud  and  quite  indomitable,  whence 
it  arises  that  I  think  as  a  man  (who  is  by  nature  proud 
and  superior).  This  renders  my  humiliation  before  the 
man  I  love  the  more  intense.  I  have  also  fancied  myself 
to  be  his  female  slave ;  but  this  does  not  suffice,  for  after  all 
every  woman  can  be  the  slave  of  her  husband. 

Case  71  ■  Miss  v.  X.,  aged  thirty-five  ;  of  greatly  pre- 
disposed family.  For  some  years  she  has  been  in  the  initial 
stage  of  ixiraiioia  joersccutoria.  This  sprang  from  cerebro- 
spinal neurasthenia,  the  origin  of  which  is  found  to  be 
sexual  hyperexcitation.  Since  her  twenty-fourth  year 
she  has  been  given  to  masturbation.  As  a  result  of  dis- 
appointment in  an  engagement  and  intense  sexual  excite- 
ment, she  began  to  practise  masturbation  and  psychical 
onanism.  Inclination  toward  persons  of  her  oion  sex  never 
occurred.  The  patient  says  :  "At  the  age  of  six  or  eight  I 
conceived  a  desire  to  be  whipped.  Since  I  had  never  been 
whipped,  and  had  never  been  present  when  others  were 
thus  punished,  I  cannot  understand  how  I  came  to  have 
this  strange  desire.    I  can  only  think  that  it  is  congenital. 


MASOCHISM.  191 

With  these  ideas  of  being  whipped  I  had  a  feehng  of 
actual  dehght,  and  pictured  in  my  fancy  how  fine  it  would 
1)0  to  be  whipped  by  one  of  my  female  friends.  I  never 
had  any  thought  of  being  whipped  by  a  man.  I  revelled 
in  the  idea,  and  never  attempted  any  actual  realisation 
of  my  fancies,  which  disappeared  after  my  tenth  year. 
Only  when  I  read  "  Bousseau's  Confessions,"  at  the  age 
of  thirty-four,  did  I  understand  what  my  longing  for 
whippings  meant,  and  that  my  abnormal  ideas  were  like 
those  of  Bousseau. 

On  account  of  its  original  character  and  the  reference 
to  Bousseau,  this  case  may  with  certainty  be  called  a  case 
of  masochism.  The  fact  that  it  is  a  female  friend  who  is 
conceived  in  imagination  »s  whipping  her,  is  explained  by 
the  circumstance  that  the  masochistic  desire  was  here 
present  in  the  mind  of  a  child  before  the  psychical  vita 
sexualis  had  developed  and  the  instinct  for  the  male  had 
been  awakened.  Antipathic  sexual  instinct  is  here  ex- 
pressly excluded. 

An  Attempt  to  Explain  Masochism. 

The  facts  of  masochism  are  certainly  among  the  most 
interesting  in  the  domain  of  psychopathology.  An  attempt 
at  explanation  must  first  seek  to  distinguish  in  them  the 
essential  from  the  unessential.  The  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic in  masochism  is  certainly  the  unlimited  subjection 
to  the  will  of  a  person  of  the  opposite  sex  (in  sadism,  on 
the  contrary,  the  unlimited  mastery  of  this  person),  with 
the  awakening  and  accompaniment  of  lustful  sexual  feel- 
ings to  the  degree  of  orgasm.  From  the  foregoing  it  is 
clear  that  the  particular  manner  in  which  this  relation  of 
subjection  or  domination  is  expressed  {v.  supra),  whether 
merely  in  symbolic  acts,  or  whether  tliere  is  also  a  desire 
to  suffer  pain  at  the  hands  of  a  person  of  the  opposite  sex, 
is  a  subordinate  matter. 


192  PSYCHOPATHIA   Sl'IXUALIS. 

While  sadism  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  pathological 
intensification  of  the  masculine  sexual  character  in  its 
psychical  peculiarities,  masochism  rather  represents  a 
pathological  degeneration  of  the  distinctive  psychical 
peculiarities  of  woman.  But  masculine  masochism  is  un- 
doubtedly frequent ;  and  it  is  this  that  comes  most  fre- 
quently under  observation  and  almost  exclusively  makes 
up  the  series  of  observed  cases.  The  reason  for  this  has 
been  previously  stated  (p.  188). 

Two  sources  of  masochism  can  be  distinguished  in  the 
sphere  of  normal  phenomena.  The  first  is,  that  in  the 
state  of  lustful  excitement  every  impression  made  by  the 
person  giving  rise  to  the  sexual  stimulus,  independently  of 
the  nature  of  its  action,  is  pleasing  to  the  individual  excited. 

It  is  entirely  physiological  that  playful  taps  and  light 
blows  should  be  taken  for  caresses,^ 

Like  the  lover's  pinch,  which  hurts  and  is  desired. 

— Anthony  and  Cleopatra,  v.,  2. 

From  here  the  step  is  not  long  to  a  state  where  the  wish 
to  experience  a  very  intense  impression  at  the  hands  of 
the  consort  leads  to  a  desire  for  blows,  etc.,  in  cases  'of 
pathological  intensification  of  lust ;  for  pain  is  ever  a 
ready  means  for  producing  intense  bodily  impressions. 
Just  as  in  sadism  the  sexual  emotion  leads  to  a  state  of 
exaltation  in  which  the  excessive  motor  excitement  im- 
plicates neighbouring  nervous  tracts,  so  in  masochism  an 
ecstatic  state  arises,  in  which  the  rising  flood  of  a  single 
emotion  ravenously  devours  and  covers  with  lust  every 
impression  coming  from  the  beloved  person. 

The  second  and,  indeed,  the  most  important  source  of 
masochism  is  to  be  sought  in  a  wide-spread  phenomenon, 
wliicb,  though  it  is  extraordinary  and  abnormal,  yet,  by 
no  means  lies  within  the  domain  of  sexual  perversion. 

1  Analogous  facts  are  found  in  the  animal  kingdom.  Puhnonata  Cicv., 
for  instance,  possess  a  small  calcareous  staff  which  lies  hidden  in  a  special 
pouch  of  the  body,  but  is  at  the  time  of  nesting  projected  and  used  as  a 
means  of  sexual  excitement,  producing,  beyond  doubt,  pain. 


MASOCHISM.  193 

I  here  refer  to  the  very  prevalent  fact  that  in  in- 
numerable instances,  which  occur  in  all  varieties,  one 
individual  becomes  dependent  on  another  of  the  opposite 
sex,  in  a  very  extraordinary  and  remarkable  manner, — 
even  to  the  loss  of  all  independent  will-power  ;  a  depend- 
ence which  forces  the  party  in  subjection  to  acts  and 
suffering  which  greatly  prejudice  personal  interest,  and 
often  enough  lead  to  offences  against  both  morality  and 
law. 

This  dependence,  however,  differs  from  the  manifest- 
ations of  normal  life  only  in  the  intensity  of  the  sexual 
feelmg  that  here  conies  in  play,  and  in  the  slight  degree 
of  will-power  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  its  equili- 
brium. The  difference  is  one  of  intensity,  not  of  quality, 
as  in  masochistic  manifestations. 

This  dependence  of  one  person  apon  another  of  the 
opposite  sex — abnormal  but  not  perverse,  a  phenomenon 
possessing  great  interest  when  regarded  from  a  forensic 
standpoint — I  designate  "sexual  bondage'' ;^  for  the  rela- 
tions and  circumstances  attending  it  have  in  all  respects 
the  character  of  bondage.  The  will  of  the  ruling  indi- 
vidual dominates  that  of  the  person  in  subjection,  just 
as  a  master's  does  his  bondsman's.^ 

This  "  sexual  bondage,"  as  has  been  said,  is  certainly 
an  abnormal  phenomenon.  It  begins  with  the  first  devia- 
tion from  the  normal.     The  degree  of  dependence  of  one 

'  Cf.  the  author's  article,  "  Uber  geschlechtliche  Horigkeit  und 
^lasochismus,"  in  the  "  Psychiatrischen  Jahrbiicher,"  Bd.  x.,  p.  169  d 
t/eq.,  where  this  subject  is  treated  in  detail,  and  particularly  from  the 
forensic  standpoint. 

-The  expressions  "  slave  "  and  "slavery,"  though  often  used  meta- 
phorically under  such  circumstances,  are  avoided  here  because  they  are 
the  favourite  expressions  of  masochism,  from  which  this  "  bondage  "  must 
be  strictly  differentiated. 

The  expression  "  bondage  "  is  not  to  be  construed  to  mean  J.  S,  MilVs 
"  Bondage  of  Woman  ".  What  3Iill  designates  with  this  expression  are 
laws  and  customs,  social  and  historical  facts.  Here,  however,  we  always 
speak  of  facts  having  peculiar  individual  motives  that  even  conflict  with 
prevalent  customs  and  laws.     Besides  it  has  reference  to  cither  sex. 

13 


194  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

person  upon  another,  or  of  two  upon  each  other,  resulting 
from  individual  pecuharity  in  the  intensity  of  motives  that 
in  themselves  are  normal,  constitutes  the  normal  standard 
established  by  law  and  custom.  Sexual  bondage  is  not  a 
perverse  manifestation,  however  ;  the  instinctive  activities 
at  work  here  are  the  same  as  those  that  set  in  motion — 
even  though  it  be  with  less  violence— the  psychical  vita 
scxualis  which  moves  entirely  within  normal  limits. 

Fear  of  losing  the  companion  and  the  desire  to  keep 
him  always  content,  amiable,  and  inclined  to  sexual  inter- 
course, are  here  the  motives  of  the  individual  in  subjection. 
An  extraordinary  degree  of  love— which,  particularly  in 
woman,  does  not  always  indicate  an  unusual  degree  of 
sensuality — and  a  weak  character  are  the  simple  elements 
of  this  extraordinary  process.^ 

The  motive  of  the  dominant  individual  is  egotism 
which  finds  unlimited  room  for  action. 

The  manifestations  of  sexual  bondage  are  various  in 
form,  and  the  cases  are  very  numerous.^  At  every  step  in 
life  we  find  men  that  have  fallen  into  sexual  bondage. 
Among  married  men,  hen-pecked  husbands  belong  to  this 
category,  particularly  elderly  men  who  marry  young  wives 
and  try  to  overcome  the  disparity  of  years  and  physical 
defects  by  unconditional  submission  to  the  wife's  every 
whim  ;  and  unmarried  men  of  ripe  maturity,  who  seek  to 

1  Perhaps  the  most  important  clement  is,  that  by  the  habit  of  sub- 
mission a  kind  of  mechanical  obedience,  without  consciousness  of  its 
motives,  which  operates  with  automatic  certainty,  may  be  established, 
having  no  opposing  motives  to  contend  with,  because  it  lies  beyond  the 
threshold  of  consciousness  ;  and  it  may  be  used  by  the  dominant  individual 
like  an  inanimate  instrument. 

'  Sexual  bondage,  of  course,  plays  a  role  in  all  literatures.  Indeed, 
for  the  poet,  the  extraordinary  manifestations  of  the  sexual  life  that  are 
not  perverse  form  a  rich  and  open  field.  The  most  celebrated  description 
of  masculine  "  bondage  "  is  that  by  Abbd  Privost,  "  Manon  Lescault  ".  An 
excellent  description  of  feminine  "  bondage  "  is  that  of  "  Leone  Leoni," 
by  George  Sand.  But  first  of  all  comes  Xleist.'s  "  Kiithchen  von  Heilbronn," 
who  himself  called  it  the  counterpart  of  (sadistic)  "  Penthesilea  ".  Halm's 
"  Griseldis  "  and  many  other  similar  poems  also  belong  here. 


MASOCHISM.  195 

better  their  last  chance  of  love  by  unlimited  sacrifice,  are 
also  to  be  enumerated  here.  Here  belong,  also,  men  of 
any  age,  who,  seized  by  hot  passion  for  a  woman,  meet 
coldness  and  calculation,  and  have  to  capitulate  on  hard 
conditions  ;  men  of  loving  natures  who  allow  themselves 
to  be  persuaded  to  marriage  by  notorious  prostitutes  ; 
men  who,  to  run  after  adventuresses,  leave  everything 
and  jeopardise  their  future  ;  husbands  and  fathers  who 
leave  wife  and  child,  to  lay  the  income  of  a  family  at 
the  feet  of  a  harlot. 

But,  numerous  as  the  examples  of  masculine  "bond- 
age" are,  every  observer  of  life  who  is  at  all  unprejudiced 
must  allow  that  they  are  far  from  equalling  in  number 
and  importance  the  cases  of  feminine  "  bondage".  This 
is  easily  explained.  For  a  man,  love  is  almost  always 
only  an  episode,  and  he  has  many  other  and  important 
interests ;  for  a  woman,  on  the  other  hand,  love  is  the 
principal  thmg  in  life,  and,  until  the  birth  of  children, 
always  her  first  mterest.  After  this  it  is  still  often  her 
first  thought,  but  always  takes  at  least  the  second  place. 
But,  what  is  still  more  important,  man  ruled  by  this 
impulse  easily  satisfies  it  in  embraces  for  which  he  finds 
unhmited  opportunities.  Woman  in  the  upper  classes  of 
society,  if  she  have  a  husband,  is  bound  to  him  alone ; 
and  even  m  the  lower  classes  there  are  still  great  obstacles 
to  polyandry.  Therefore,  a  woman  s  husband  means  for  her 
the  whole  sex,  and  his  importance  to  her  becomes  very 
great.  It  must  also  be  considered  that  the  normal  relation 
established  by  law  and  custom  between  husband  and  wife 
is  far  from  being  one  of  equality.  In  itself  it  expresses 
a  sufficient  predominance  of  woman's  dependence.  The 
concessions  she  makes  to  her  lover,  to  retain  the  love 
which  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  her  to  replace, 
only  plunge  her  deeper  in  bondage  ;  and  this  increases  the 
insatiable  demands  of  husbands  resolved  to  use  tlieir 
advantage  and  traffic  in  woman's  readiness  to  sacrifice 
herself. 


196  PSYCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

Here  may  be  placed  the  fortune-hunter,  who  for  money 
allows  himself  to  be  enveloped  in  the  easily  created  illu- 
sions of  a  maiden  ;  the  seducer,  and  the  man  who  com- 
promises wives,  calculating  on  blackmail ;  the  gilded  army 
officer  and  the  musician  with  the  lion's  mane,  who  know 
so  well  how  to  stammer  "  T^hee  or  death  !  "  as  a  means  to 
pay  debts  and  provide  a  hfe  of  ease.  Here,  too,  belong 
the  kitchen-soldier,  whose  love  the  cook  returns  with  love 
plus  means  to  satisfy  a  different  appetite;  the  drinker,  who 
consumes  the  savings  of  the  mistress  he  marries  ;  and  the 
man  who  with  blows  compels  the  prostitute  on  whom  he 
Hves  to  earn  a  certain  sum  for  him  daily.  These  are  only 
a  few  of  the  innumerable  forms  of  bondage  into  which 
woman  is  forced  by  her  greater  need  of  love  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  her  position. 

It  was  necessary  to  give  the  subject  of  "  sexual  bond- 
age "  here  brief  consideration,  for  in  it  may  be  clearly 
discerned  the  soil  from  which  the  main  root  of  masochism 
springs.  The  relationship  of  these  two  phenomena  of 
psychical  sexual  life  is  immediately  apparent.  Bondage 
and  masochism  both  consist  of  the  unconditional  subjec- 
tion of  the  individual  affected  with  this  abnormality  to  a 
person  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  of  domination  of  the  former 
by  the  latter.^  The  two  phenomena,  however,  must  be 
strictly  differentiated  ;  they  are  not  different  in  degree,  but 
in  quality. 

Sexual  bondage  is  not  a  perversion  and  not  patho- 
logical ;  the  elements  from  which  it  arises — love  and 
weakness  of  will — are  not  perverse;  it  is  only  tbeir  snnul- 
taneous  activity  that  produces  the  abnormal  result  which 
is  so  opposed  to  self-interest,  and  often  to  custom  and 
law.    The  motive,  in  obedience  to  which  the  subordinated 

1  Cases  may  occur  in  which  the  sexual  bondage  is  expressed  in  the 
same  acts  that  are  common  in  masochism.  When  rough  men  whip 
their  wives,  and  the  latter  suffer  for  love,  without,  however,  having  a 
desire  for  blows,  we  have  a  pseudo  form  of  bondage  that  may  simulate 
masochism. 


MASOCHISM.  197 

individual  acts  and  endures  tyranny,  is  the  normal  instinct 
toward  woman  (or  man),  the  satisfaction  of  which  is  the 
price  of  bondage.  The  acts  of  the  person  in  subjection, 
by  means  of  which  the  bondage  is  expressed,  are  per- 
formed at  the  command  of  the  ruHng  individual,  to 
satisfy  selfishness,  etc.  For 'the  subordinated  individual 
they  have  no  independent  purpose ;  they  are  only  the 
means  to  an  end — to  obtain  or  retain  possession  of  the 
ruhng  individual.  Finally,  bondage  is  a  result  of  love 
for  a  particular  person ;  it  first  appears  when  this  love  is 
awakened. 

In  masochism,  which  is  decidedly  abnormal  and  a 
perversion,  this  is  all  very  different.  The  motive  under- 
lying the  acts  and  suffering  of  the  person  in  subjection  is 
here  the  charm  afforded  by  the  tyranny  in  itself.  There 
may,  at  the  same  time,  be  a  desire  for  coitus  with  the 
dominant  person,  but  the  impulse  is  directed  to  the  acts 
which  serve  to  express  the  tyranny,  as  the  immediate 
objects  of  gratification.  These  acts  in  which  masochism 
is  expressed  are,  for  the  individual  in  subjection,  not 
means  to  an  end,  as  in  bondage,  but  the  end  in  them- 
selves. Finally,  in  masochism  the  longing  for  subjection 
occurs  a  priori  before  the  occurrence  of  an  inclination  to 
any  particular  object  of  love. 

The  connection  between  bondage  and  masochism  may 
be-  assumed  by  reason  of  the  correspondence  of  the  two 
phenomena  in  the  objective  condition  of  dependence, 
notwithstanding  the  difference  in  their  motives ;  and  the 
transformation  of  the  abnormality  into  the  perversion 
probably  takes  place  in  the  following  manner :  Any  one 
living  for  a  long  time  in  sexual  bondage  becomes  disposed 
to  acquire  a  slight  degree  of  masochism.  Love  that 
willingly  bears  the  tyranny  of  the  loved  one  then  becomes 
an  immediate  love  of  tyranny.  When  the  idea  of  being 
tyrannised  is  for  a  long  time  closely  associated  with  the  lustful 
thought  of  the  beloved  person,  the  lustful  emotion  is  finally  trans- 
ferred to  the  tyranny  itself,  and  the  transformation  to  preversion 


198  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

is  completed.  This  is  the  manner  in  which  masochism  may 
be  acquired  by  cultivation.^ 

Thus  a  mild  degree  of  masochism  may  arise  from 
"bondage" — become  acquired;  but  genuine,  complete, 
deep-rooted  masochism,  with  its  feverish  longing  for  sub- 
jection from  the  time  of  earliest  youth,  is  congenital. 

The  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  perversion — 
infrequent  though  it  be — of  fully  developed  masochism  is 
most  probably  to  be  found  in  the  assumption  that  it  arises 

1  It  is  highly  interesting,  and  dependent  upon  the  nature  of  bondage 
and  masochism,  wliiph  essentially  correspond  in  external  effects,  that  to 
illustrate  the  former  certain  playful,  metaphorical  expressions  are  in  gen- 
eral use ;  such  as  "  slavery,"  "  to  bear  chains,"  "  bound,"  "  to  hold  the 
whip  over,"  "  to  harness  to  the  triumphal  car,"  "  to  lie  at  the  feet,"  "  hen- 
pecked," etc., — all  things  which,  liteially  carried  out,  form  the  objects  of 
the  masochist's  desire.  Such  similes  are  frequently  used  in  daily  life 
and  have  become  trite.  They  are  derived  from  the  language  of  poetry. 
Poetry  has  always  recognised,  within  the  general  idea  of  the  passion  of 
love,  the  element  of  dependence  in  the  lover,  who  practises  self-sacrifice 
spontaneously  or  of  necessity.  The  facts  of  "  bondage  "  have  also  always 
presented  themselves  to  the  poetical  imagination.  When  the  poet  chooses 
such  expressions  as  those  mentioned,  to  picture  the  dependence  of  the 
lover  in  striking  similes,  he  proceeds  exactly  on  the  same  lines  as  does  the 
maxochist,  viz.,  to  intensify  the  idea  of  his  dependence  (his  ultimate  aim), 
he  creates  such  situations  in  reality.  In  ancient  poetry,  the  expression 
"  domina  "  is  used  to  signify  the  loved  one,  with  a  preference  for  the 
simile  of  "  casting  in  chains  "  (e.g.,  Horace,  Od.  iv.,  11).  From  antiquity 
through  all  the  centuries  to  our  own  times  [cf.  Grillparzer,  "  Ottokar," 
act  V.  :  "  To  rule  is  sweet,  almost  as  sweet  as  to  obey ")  the  poetry  of 
love  is  filled  with  similar  phrases  and  similes.  The  history  of  the  word 
"  mistress  "  is  also  interesting.  But  poetry  reacts  on  life.  It  is  probable 
that  the  courtly  chivalry  of  the  middle  ages  arose  in  this  way.  In  its 
reverence  for  women  as  "  mistresses  "  in  society  and  in  individual  love- 
relations  ;  its  transference  of  the  relations  of  feudalism  and  vassalage 
to  the  relation  between  the  knight  and  his  lady ;  its  submission  to  all 
feminine  whims  ;  its  love-tests  and  vows  ;  its  duty  of  obedience  to  every 
command  of  the  lady — in  all  this,  chivalry  appears  as  a  systematic,  poeti- 
cal development  of  the  "  bondage  "  of  love.  Certain  extreme  manifesta- 
tions, like  the  deeds  and  sufferings  of  Ulrich  von  Lichtendein  or  Pierre  Vidnl 
in  the  service  of  their  ladies ;  or  the  practice  of  the  fraternity  of  the 
"  Galois  "  in  France,  whose  members  sought  martyrdom  in  love  and 
subjected  themselves  to  all  kinds  of  suffering — these  clearly  have  a  maso- 
chistic character,  and  demonstrate  the  natural  transformation  of  one 
phenomenon  into  the  other. 


MASOCHISM.  199 

from  the  more  frequent  abnormality  of  "sexual  bondage," 

through  which,  now  and  then,  this  abnormality  is  heredi- 
tarily transferred  to  a  psychopathic  individual  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  becofnes  transformed  into  a  perversion.  It  has  been 
previously  shown  how  a  shght  displacement  of  the  psy- 
chical elements  under  consideration  may  effect  this  transi- 
tion. Whatever  effects  associating  habits  may  have  on 
possible  cases  of  acquired  masochism,  the  same  ejffects  are 
produced  by  the  varying  tricks  of  heredity  upon  original 
masochism.  No  new  element  is  thereby  added  to  "  bond- 
age," but  on  the  contrary  the  very  element  is  deleted 
which  cements  love  and  dependence,  and  thereby  dis- 
tinguishes "  bondage "  from  masochism  and  abnormality 
from  perversion.  It  is  quite  natural  that  only  the  in- 
stinctive element  is  transmitted. 

This  transition  from  abnormality  into  perversion, 
through  hereditary  transference,  takes  place  very  easily 
where  the  psychopathic  constitution  of  the  descendant 
presented  the  other  factor  of  masochism, — i.e.,  what  has 
been  previously  called  its  main  root, — the  tendency  of 
sexually  hypersesthetic  natures  to  assimilate  all  impres- 
sions coming  from  the  beloved  person  with  the  sexual 
impression. 

From  these  two  elements, — from  "  sexual  bondage  " 
on  the  one  hand  and  from  the  above-mentioned  disposi- 
tion to  sexual  ecstasy,  which  apperceives  even  maltreat- 
ment with  lustful  emotion,  on  the  other, — the  roots  of 
which  may  be  traced  back  to  the  field  of  physiological 
facts,  masochism  arises  from  the  basis  of  psychopathic 
predisposition,  in  so  far  as  its  sexual  hypersesthesia  inten- 
sifies first  all  the  physiological  accessories  of  the  vita 
sexualis  and,  finally,  only  its  abnormal  accompaniments, 
to  the  pathological  degree  of  perversion.^ 

1  If  it  be  conRidcred  thab,  as  shown  above,  "  sexual  bondage"  is  a  phe- 
nomenon observed  much  more  frequently  and  in  a  more  pronounced 
degree  in  the  female  sex  than  in  the  male,  the  thought  arises  that 
masochism   (if  not  always,  at  least  as  a  rule)  is  an  inheritance  of  the 


200  PSYCHO  PATH  I A   SliXUALIS. 

At  any  rate,  masochism,  as  a  congenital  sexual  per- 
version, constitutes  a  functional  sign  of  degeneration  in 
(almost  exclusively)  hereditary  taint ;  and  this  clinical 
deduction  is  confirmed  in  m}^  cases  of  masochism  and 
sadism.  It  is  easy  to  demonstrate  that  the  peculiar, 
psychically  anomalous  direction  of  the  vita  sexicalis  re- 
presented in  masochism  is  an  original  abnormality,  and 
not,  so  to  speak,  cultivated  in  a  predisposed  individual 
by  passive  flagellation,  through  association  of  ideas,  as 
Bousseau  and  Binet  contend.  This  is  shown  by  the 
numerous  cases  of  masochism — in  fact,  the  majority — in 
which  flagellation  never  appears,  in  which  the  perverse 
impulse  is  directed  exclusively  to  purely  symbolic  acts 
expressing  subjection  without  any  actual  infliction  of 
pain.  This  is  demonstrated  by  the  whole  series  of  obser- 
vations, from  case  49,  given  here. 

The  same  result — namely,  that  passive  flagellation  is 
not  the  nucleus  around  which  all  the  rest  is  gathered — is 
reached  when  closer  study  is  given  to  the  cases  in  which 
passive  flagellation  plays  a  role,  as  in  cases  41  and  47. 
Case  48  is  particularly  instructive  in  relation  to  this  ;  for 
in  this  instance  there  can  be  no  thought  of  a  sexually 
stimulating  effect  by  punishment  received  in  youth.  More- 
over, in  this  case,  connection  with  an  early  experience  is 

"  bondage  "  of  feminine  ancestry.  Thus  it  conies  into  a  relation — though 
distant — with  antipathic  sexual  instinct,  as  a  transference  to  the  male  of 
a  perversion  really  belonging  to  the  female.  This  conception  of  maso- 
chism as  a  rudimentary  inverted  sexual  instinct,  as  a  partial  effemination, 
here  affecting  only  the  secondary  sexual  character  of  the  vita  sexiialis  (a 
theory  still  more  unconditionally  expressed  in  the  sixth  edition  of  this 
work)  finds  its  support  in  the  statements  of  the  subjects  of  case  42  and 
case  48  (vide  supra),  who  present  other  features  of  effemination,  and  give 
as  their  ideal  a  relatively  old  woman  who  seeks  and  wins  them. 

It  must,  however,  be  emphasised  that  "  bondage  "  also  plays  no  unim- 
portant rdle  in  the  masculine  vita  sexiialis,  and  that  masochism  in  man 
may  also  be  explained  without  any  such  transference  of  feminine  elements. 
It  must  also  be  remembered  here  that  masochism,  as  well  as  its  counter- 
part, sadism,  occurs  in  irregular  combination  with  antipathic  sexual 
instinct. 


MASOCHISM.  201 

not  possible ;  for  the  situation  constituting  the  object  of 
principal  sexual  interest  is  absolutely  incapable  of  being 
carried  out  by  a  child. 

Finally,  the  origin  of  masochism  from  purely  psychical 
elements,  on  confronting  it  with  sadism  {v.  infra),  is  con- 
vincingly demonstrated.  That  passive  flagellation  occurs 
so  frequently  in  masochism  is  explained  simply  by  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  most  extreme  means  of  expressing  the 
relation  of  subjection. 

I  repeat  that  the  decisive  points  in  the  differentiation 
of  simple  passive  flagellation  from  flagellation  dependent 
upon  masochistic  desire  are,  that  in  the  former  the  act  is 
a  means  to  render  coitus,  or  at  least  ejaculation,  possible ; 
and  that  in  the  latter  it  is  a  means  of  gratification  of 
masochistic  desires. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  masochists  subject  themselves 
to  all  other  kinds  of  maltreatment  and  suffering  in  which 
there  can  be  no  question  of  reflex  excitation  of  lust.  Since 
such  cases  are  numerous,  we  must  in  these  acts  (as  well 
as  in  flagellation  in  masochists,  having  like  significance) 
seek  to  ascertain  the  relation  in  which  pain  and  lust  stand 
to  each  other.  From  the  statement  of  a  masochist  it  is 
as  follows  : —  . 

The  relation  is  not  of  such  a  nature  that  what  causes 
physical  pain  is  here  simply  perceived  as  physical  pleasure ; 
for  the  person  in  a  state  of  masochistic  ecstasy  feels  no 
pain,  either  because,  by  reason  of  his  emotional  state  (like 
that  of  the  soldier  in  battle),  the  physical  effect  on  his 
cutaneous  nerves  is  not  apperceived,  or  because  (as  with 
religious  martyrs  and  enthusiasts),  in  the  preoccupation 
of  consciousness  with  lustful  emotion,  the  idea  of  mal- 
treatment remains  merely  a  symbol,  without  its  quality  of 
pain. 

To  a  certain  extent  there  is  overcompensation  of 
physical  pain  in  psychical  pleasure,  and  only  the  excess 
remains  in  consciousness  as  psychical  lust.  This  also 
undergoes  an  increase,  since,  either  through  reflex  spinal 


202  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

influence  or  through  a  pecuhar  colouring  in  the  sensorium 
of  sensory  impressions,  a  kind  of  hallucination  of  bodily 
pleasure  takes  place,  with  a  vague  localisation  of  the 
objectively  projected  sensation. 

In  the  self-torture  of  rehgious  enthusiasts  (fakirs,  howl- 
ing dervishes,  religious  flagellants)  there  is  an  analogous 
state,  only  with  a  difference  in  the  quality  of  pleasurable 
feeling.  Here  the  conception  of  martyrdom  is  also  apper- 
ceived  without  its  pain ;  for  consciousness  is  filled  with 
the  pleasurably  coloured  idea  of  serving  God,  atoning  for 
sins,  deserving  heaven,  etc.,  through  martyrdom. 

Masochism  and  Sadism. 

The  perfect  counterpart  of  masochism  is  sadism. 
While  in  the  former  there  is  a  desire  to  sufi'er  and  be 
subjected  to  violence,  in  the  latter  the  wish  is  to  inflict 
pain  and  use  violence. 

The  parallelism  is  perfect.  All  the  acts  and  situations 
used  by  the  sadist  in  the  active  role  become  the  object  of 
the  desire  of  the  masochist  in  the  passive  role.  In  both 
perversions  these  acts  advance  from  purely  symbolic  acts 
to  severe  maltreatment.  Even  murder,  in  which  sadism 
reaches  its  acme,  finds,  as  is  shown  by  case  50, — of 
course,  only  in  fancy, — its  passive  counterpart.  Under 
favouring  conditions,  both  perversions  may  occur  with 
a  normal  vita  sexualis ;  in  both,  the  acts  in  which  they 
express  themselves  are  preparatory  to  coitus  or  substi- 
tutes for  it.^ 

But  the  analogy  does  not  exist   simply  in   external 

1  Of  course,  both  have  to  contend  with  opposing  ethical  and  aesthetic 
motives  in  foro  interna.  After  these  have  been  overcome,  active  sadism 
immediately  comes  in  conflict  with  the  law.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
masochism,  which  accounts  for  the  greater  frequency  of  masochistic  acts. 
But  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  and  fear  of  pain  prevent  the  realisa- 
tion of  the  latter.  The  practical  significance  of  masochism  lies  only  in  its 
relations  to  psychical  impotence ;  while  that  of  sadism  lies  beyond  this, 
and  is  principally  forensic. 


MASOCHISM   AND    SADISM.  203 

manifestations  ;  it  also  extends  to  the  intrinsic  character 
of  both  perversions.  Both  are  to  be  regarded  as  original 
psychopathies  in  mentally  abnormal  individuals,  v^^ho,  in 
particular,  are  affected  with  psychical  hyperesthesia  sexu- 
alis,  and,  as  a  rule,  also  with  other  abnormalities  ;  and  for 
each  of  these  perversions  two  constituent  elements  may  be 
demonstrated,  which  have  their  roots  in  psychical  facts 
lying  within  physiological  limits.  In  masochism,  as  shown 
above,  these  elements  lie  in  the  fact  (1)  that  in  the  state 
of  sexual  emotion  every  impression  produced  by  the  con- 
sort, independently  of  the  manner  of  its  production,  is, 
per  se,  attended  with  lustful  pleasure,  which,  when  accom- 
panied by  hyperesthesia  sexualis,  may  go  so  far  as  to 
overcompensate  all  painful  sensation  ;  and  in  the  fact  (2) 
thflt  "  sexual  bondage,"  dependent  on  mental  factors — in 
themselves  not  perverse — may,  under  pathological  condi- 
tions, become  a  perverse,  pleasurable  desire  for  subjection 
to  the  opposite  sex,  which — even  if  its  inheritance  from 
the  female  side  need  not  be  presupposed — represents  a 
pathological  degeneration  of  the  character  (really  belong- 
ing to  woman)  of  the  instinct  of  subordination,  physiolo- 
gical in  woman. 

In  harmony  with  this,  there  are,  likewise,  two  consti- 
tuent elements  explanatory  of  sadism,  the  origin  of  which 
may  also  be  traced  back  within  physiological  limits.  These 
are  :  the  fact  (1)  that  in  sexual  emotion,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent as  an  accompanying  psychical  excitation,  an  impulse 
may  arise  to  influence  the  object  of  desire  in  every 
possible  way  and  with  the  greatest  possible  intensity, 
which,  in  individuals  sexually  hyperaesthetic,  may  de- 
generate into  a  craving  to  inflict  pain ;  and  the  fact  (2) 
that,  under  pathological  conditions,  man's  active  role 
of  winning  woman  may  become  an  unlimited  desire  for 
subjugation. 

Thus  masochism  and  sadism  represent  perfect  counter- 
parts. It  is  also  in  harmony  with  this  that  the  individuals 
affected  with  these  perversions  regard  the  opposite  perver- 


204  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

sion  in  the  other  sex  as  their  ideal,  as  shown  by  cases  41 
and  47,  and  also  by  "  Bousseaus  Confessions  ". 

But  the  contrast  of  masochism  and  sadism  may  also  be 
used  to  invalidate  the  assumption  that  the  former  has  its 
origin  in  the  reflex  effect  of  passive  flagellation,  and  that 
all  the  rest  is  the  product  of  association  of  related  ideas, 
as  Binet,  in  explanation  of  Eousseaiis  case,  thinks,  and  as 
Rousseau  himself  believed  {vide  siipra,  p.  154).  In  the  active 
maltreatment  forming  the  object  of  the  sadist's  sexual 
desire  there  is,  in  fact,  no  irritation  of  his  own  sensory 
nerves  by  the  act  of  maltreatment,  so  that  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  purely  psychical  character  of  the  origin  of  this 
perversion.  Sadism  and  masochism,  however,  are  so  re- 
lated to  each  other,  and  so  correspond  in  aJl  points  with 
each  other,  that  the  one  allows,  by  analogy,  a  conclusion 
for  the  other  ;  and  this  is  alone  sufficient  to  establish  the 
purely  psychical  character  of  masochism. 

According  to  the  above-detailed  contrast  of  all  the  ele- 
ments and  phenomena  of  masochism  and  sadism,  and  as  a 
rdsume  of  all  observed  cases,  lust  in  the  infliction  of  pain 
and  lust  in  inflicted  pain  appear  but  as  two  different  sides 
of  the  same  psychical  process,  of  which  the  primary  and 
essential  thing  is  the  consciousness  of  active  or  passive 
subjection,  in  which  the  combination  of  cruelty  and  lustful 
pleasure  has  only  a  secondary  psychological  significance. 
Acts  of  cruelty  serve  to  express  this  subjection  ;  first,  be- 
cause they  are  the  most  extreme  means  for  the  expression 
of  this  relation  ;  and,  again,  because  they  represent  the 
most  intense  effect  that  one  person,  either  with  or  without 
coitus,  can  exert  on  another. 

Sadism  and  masochism  are  the  results  of  associations, 
just  the  same  as  all  compHcated  manifestations  of  psychi- 
cal life  are  associations.  For  psychic  life  consists,  after 
the  production  of  the  simplest  elements  of  consciousness, 
simply  of  associations  and  disassociations  of  these  ele- 
ments. 

The  chief  point  gained  by  this  analysis  is  that  sadism 


MASOCHISM   AND    SADISM.  205 

and  masochism  are  not  merely  the  results  of  accidental 
associations,  occasioned  by  chance  or  an  opportune  coinci- 
dence, but  results  of  associations  springing  from  causes 
existing  under  normal  circumstances,  easily  produced 
under  certain  conditions — e.g.,  sexual  hypersesthesia.  An 
abnormally  intensified  sexual  instinct  spreads  in  every 
direction.  It  reaches  into  adjacent  spheres,  and  amalga- 
mates with  their  contents,  thus  producing  the  pathological 
associations  which  are  the  real  essence  of  both  these  per- 
versions.^ 

Of  course,  this  need  not  always  be  so,  for  there  are 
cases  of  hypersesthesia  without  perversion.  But  these 
cases  of  pure  hyjmrcBsthesia  sexualis — at  least,  those  of 
striking  intensity — seem  to  be  of  rarer  occurrence  than 
those  of  perversion. 

^  Schrcnck-Notzing,  who  in  his  explanation  of  all  perversions  lays  par- 
ticular stress  upon  the  "  occasional  momentum,"  gives  preference  to  the 
theory  of  acquired  perversiolis  over  the  congenital,  and  allows  the  mani- 
festations of  sadism  and  masocliism  (according  to  his  terminology  "  active 
and  passive  algolagnia  ")  only  a  subordinate  position.  Although  he  ad- 
mits that  many  cases  can  only  be  explained  on  the  assumption  of  con- 
genital predisposition,  yet  he  contends  that  circumstances  or  a  timely 
coincidence  controlled  their  acquirement  (op.  cit.  p.  170). 

His  arguments  are  based  upon  observations.  Quoting  two  cases  of 
psychopathia  sexualis  (29  and  37  of  the  seventh  edition)  he  contends  that  the 
accidental  sight  of  a  girl  bleeding  or  a  boy  being  whipped  coinciding  with 
a  strong  sexual  emotion  might  be  sufficient  cause  for  continued  patholo- 
gical associations. 

Against  this  it  may,  however,  be  decisively  held  that  in  every  hyper- 
sesthetic  individual  early  and  strong  sexual  emotions  have  often  coincided 
with  numerous  heterogeneous  things,  whilst  the  patJiological  associaticnis 
are  always  coupled  ivilh  but  few  definite  (sadistic  and  masochistic)  things. 
Numerous  pupils  indulge  in  sexual  emotions  or  gratifications  during  lessons 
in  grammar  and  mathematics  in  the  class-room,  as  well  as  elsewhere, 
without  thereby  contracting  perverse  associations. 

From  this  clearly  follows  that  the  sight  of  a  whipping  or  similar 
scenes  may  provoke  pathological  associations  already  present  but  latent, 
but  that  it  cannot  produce  them.  Moreover,  the  aroused  sexual  instinct 
is  not  associated  with  the  numerous  indifferent  things  that  are  ever  pre- 
sent* but  only  with  such  as  normally  excite  disgust. 

The  same  argument  refers  to  the  opinion  of  Binet.  who  also  seeks  to 
explain  these  manifestations  by  accidental  associations  {vide  infra,  p.  211). 


206  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

The  cases  in  which  sadism  and  masochism  occur 
simultaneously  in  one  individual  are  interesting,  but  they 
present  some  difficulties  of  explanation.  Such  cases  are, 
for  instance,  No.  49  of  the  seventh  edition,  also  Nos.  47 
and  54  of  the  present,  but  especially  No.  29  of  the  ninth 
edition.  From  the  latter  it  is  evident  that  it  is  especially 
the  idea  of  subjection  that,  both  actively  and  passively, 
forms  the  nucleus  of  the  perverse  desires.  Traces  of  the 
same  thing  are  also  to  be  observed,  with  more  or  less 
clearness,  in  many  other  cases.  At  any  rate,  one  of  the 
two  perversions  is  always  markedly  predominant. 

Owing  to  this  marked  predominance  of  one  perversion 
and  the  later  appearance  of  the  other  in  such  cases,  it 
may  well  be  assumed  that  the  predominating  perversion 
is  original,  and  that  the  other  has  been  acquired  in  the 
course  of  time.  The  ideas  of  subjection  and  maltreat- 
ment, coloured  with  lustful  pleasure,  either  in  an  active 
or  passive  sense,  have  become  deeply  imbedded  in  such 
an  individual.  Occasionally  the  imagination  is  tempted 
to  try  the  same  ideas  in  an  inverted  role.  There  may 
even  be  realisation  of  this  inversion.  Such  attempts  in 
imagination  and  in  acts,  are,  however,  usually  soon  aban- 
doned as  inadequate  for  the  original  inclination. 

Masochism  and  sadism  also  occur  in  combination  with 
contrary  sexual  instinct,  and,  in  fact,  in  association  with 
all  forms  and  degrees  of  this  perversion.  The  individual 
of  contrary  sexuality  may  be  a  sadist  as  well  as  ma.socbist 
(c/.  cases  46  and  49  of  the  seventh  edition  and  numer- 
ous cases  m  the  subsequent  series  of  cases  of  sexual 
inversion). 

Wherever  a  sexual  perversion  has  developed  on  the 
basis  of  a  neuropathic  individuality,  sexual  hyperaesthesia, 
which  may  always  be  assumed  to  be  present,  may  induce 
the  phenomena  of  masochism  and  sadism — now  of  the 
one,  now  of  both  combined,  one  arising  from  the  other. 
Thus  masochism  and  sadism  appear  as  the  fundamental 
forms  of  psycho-sexual  perversion,  which  may  make  their 


FETICHISM.  207 

appearance  at  any  point  in  the  domain  of  sexual  aber- 
ration.' 

Fetichism. — 3.  The  Association  of  Lust  with  the  Idea  of 
Certain  Portions  of  the  Female  Person,  or  with  Certain 
Articles  of  Female  Attire. — Fetichism. 

In  the  considerations  concerning  the  psychology  of  the 
normal  sexual  life  in  the  introduction  to  this  work  (vide 
pp.  19,  20),  it  was  shown  that,  within  physiological  limits, 
the  pronounced  preference  for  a  certain  portion  of  the  body 
of  persons  of  the  opposite  sex,  particularly  for  a  certain 
form  of  this  part,  may  attain  great  psycho-sexual  import- 

1  Every  attempt  to  explain  the  facts  of  either  sadism  or  masochism 
owing  to  the  close  connection  of  the  two  phenomena  demonstrated  here, 
must  also  be  suited  to  explain  the  other  perversion.  An  attempt  to  offer 
an  explanation  of  sadism,  by  J.  G.  Kiernan  (Chicago)  {vide  "  Psychological 
Aspects  of  the  Sexual  Appetite,"  Alienist  and  Neurologist,  St.  Louis, 
April,  1891)  meets  this  requirement,  and  for  this  reason  may  be  briefly 
mentioned  here.  Kiernan,  who  has  several  authorities  in  Anglo-American 
literature  for  his  theory,  starts  from  the  assumption  of  several  naturalists 
(Dallinger,  Drysdale,  Rolph,  Cienkoivsky)  which  conceives  the  so-called 
conjugation,  a  sexual  act  in  certain  low  forms  of  animal  life,  to  be  canni- 
balism, a  devouring  of  the  partner  in  the  act.  He  brings  into  immediate 
connection  with  this  the  well-known  facts  that  at  the  time  of  sexual  union 
crabs  tear  limbs  from  their  bodies  and  spiders  bite  off  the  heads  of  the 
males,  and  other  sadistic  acts  performed  by  rutting  animals  with  their 
consorts.  From  this  he  passes  to  lust-murder  and  other  lustful  acts  of 
cruelty  in  man,  and  assumes  that  hunger  and  the  sexual  appetite  arc,  in 
their  origin,  identical ;  that  the  sexual  cannibalism  of  lower  forms  of 
animal  life  has  an  influence  in  higher  forms  and  in  man,  and  that  sadism 
is  an  atavistic  rebound. 

This  explanation  of  sadism  would,  of  course,  also  explain  masochism  ; 
for  if  the  origin  of  sexual  intercourse  is  to  be  sought  in  cannibalistic 
processes,  then  both  the  survival  of  one  sex  and  the  destruction  of  the 
other  would  fulfil  the  purpose  of  nature,  and  thus  the  instinctive  desire 
to  be  the  victim  would  be  explained.  But  it  must  be  stated  in  objection 
that  the  basis  of  this  reasoning  is  insufficient.  The  extremely  complicated 
process  of  conjugation  in  lower  organisms,  into  which  science  has  really 
penetrated  only  during  the  last  few  years,  is  by  no  means  to  be  regarded 
as  simply  a  devouring  of  one  individual  by  another  (c/.  Weismann,  "  Die 
Bedeutung  der  Sexuellen  Fortpflanzung  fiir  die  Seloctionstheorio,"  p.  51, 
Jena,  188G). 


208  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALTS. 

ance.  Indeed,  the  especial  power  of  attraction  possessed 
by  certain  forms  and  peculiarities  for  many  men — in  fact, 
the  majority — may  be  regarded  as  the  real  principle  of 
individualisation  in  love. 

This  preference  for  certain  particular  physical  char- 
acteristics in  persons  of  the  opposite  sex — by  the  side  of 
which,  likewise,  a  marked  preference  for  certain  psychical 
characteristics  may  be  demonstrated — following  Binet 
("  Du  Fetischisme  dans  I'amour,"  "  Bevue  Philosophique," 
1887)  and  Lombroso  (Introduction  to  the  Italian  edition  of 
the  second  edition  of  this  work),  I  have  called  "  fetichism  "  ; 
because  this  enthusiasm  for  certain  portions  of  the  body 
(or  even  articles  of  attire)  and  the  worship  of  them,  in 
obedience  to  sexual  impulses,  frequently  call  to  mind 
the  reverence  for  relics,  holy  objects,  etc.,  in  religious  cults. 
This  physiological  fetichism  has  already  been  described 
in  detail  on  page  19,  et  seq. 

By  the  side  of  this  physiological  fetichism,  however, 
there  is,  in  the  psycho-sexual  sphere,  an  undoubted  jjcUho- 
loijical,  erotic  fetichism,  of  which  there  is  already  a  numerous 
series  of  cases  presenting  phenomena  having  great  clinical 
and  psychiatric  interest,  and,  under  certain  circumstances 
also,  forensic  importance.  This  pathological  fetichism  does 
not  confine  itself  to  certain  parts  of  the  body  alone,  but 
it  is  even  extended  to  inanimate  objects,  which,  however, 
are  almost  always  articles  of  female  wearing-apparel,  and 
thus  stand  in  close  relation  with  the  female  person. 

This  pathological  fetichism  is  connected,  through  gra- 
dual transitions,  with  physiological  fetichism,  so  that  (at 
least  in  body-fetichism)  it  is  almost  impossible  to  sharply 
define  the  beginning  of  the  perversion.  Moreover,  the 
whole  field  of  body-fetichism  does  not  really  extend  beyond 
the  limits  of  things  which  normally  stimulate  the  sexual 
instinct.  Here  the  abnormality  consists  only  in  the  fact 
that  the  whole  sexual  interest  is  concentrated  on  the  impres- 
sion made  by  a  part  of  the  person  of  the  opposite  sex,  so  that 
all  other  impressions  fade  and  become  more  or  less  indif- 


FETICHISM.  209 

ferent.  Therefore,  the  body-fetichist  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  a  monstrum  j)er  excessum,  Hke  the  sadist  or  masochist,  but 
rather  as  a  monstnim  per  defectum.  What  stimulates  him  is 
not  abnormal,  but  rather  what  does  not  affect  him, — the 
limitation  of  sexual  interest  that  has  taken  place  in  him. 
Of  course,  this  limited  sexual  interest,  within  its  narrower 
limits,  is  usually  expressed  with  a  correspondingly  greater 
and  abnormal  intensity. 

It  would  seem  reasonable  to  assume,  as  the  distinguish- 
ing mark  of  pathological  fetichism,  the  necessity  for  the 
presence  of  the  fetish  as  a  conditio  sine  qua  non  for  the 
possibility  of  performance  of  coitus.  But  when  the  facts 
are  more  carefully  studied,  it  is  seen  that  this  limitation 
is  really  only  indefinite.  There  are  numerous  cases  in 
which,  even  in  the  absence  of  the  fetich,  coitus  is  possible, 
but  incomplete  and  forced  (often  with  the  help  of  fancies 
relating  to  the  fetich),  and  particularly  unsatisfying  and 
exhausting;  and,  too,  closer  study  of  the  distinctive  sub- 
jective psychical  conditions  in  these  cases  shows  that  there 
are  transitional  states,  passing,  on  the  one  hand,  to  mere 
physiological  preferences,  and,  on  the  other,  to  psychical 
impotence,  in  the  absence  of  the  fetich. 

It  is  therefore  better,  perhaps,  to  seek  the  pathological 
criterion  of  body-fetichism  in  purely  subjective  psychical 
states.  The  concentration  of  the  sexual  interest  on  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  the  body  that  has  no  direct  relation  to  sex 
(as  have  the  mammae  and  external  genitals) — a  peculiarity 
to  be  emphasised — often  leads  body-fetichists  to  such  a 
condition  that  they  do  not  regard  coitus  as  the  real  means 
of  sexual  gratification,  but  rather  some  form  of  manipula- 
tion of  that  portion  of  the  body  that  is  effectual  as  a  fetich. 
This  perverse  instinct  of  body-fetichists  may  be  taken  as 
the  pathological  criterion,  no  matter  whether  actual  coitus 
is  still  possible  or  not. 

Fetichism  of  inanimate  objects  or  articles  of  dress,  however, 
in  all  cases,  may  well  be  regarded  as  a  pathological  phe- 
nomenon, since  its  object  falls  without  the  circle  of  normal 

14 


210  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALTS. 

sexual  stimuli.  But  even  here,  in  the. phenomena,  there 
is  a  certain  outward  correspondence  with  processes  of  the 
normal  psychical  vita  sexualis ;  the  inner  connection  and 
meaning  of  pathological  fetichism,  however,  are  entirely 
different.  In  the  ecstatic  love  of  a  man  mentally  normal, 
a  handkerchief  or  shoe,  a  glove  or  letter,  the  flower  "  she 
gave,"  or  a  lock  of  hair,  etc.,  may  become  the  object  of 
worship,  but  only  because  they  represent  a  mnemonic 
symbol  of  the  beloved  person — absent  or  dead — whose 
whole  personality  is  reproduced  by  them.  The  pathologi- 
cal fetichist  has  no  such  relations.  The  fetich  constitutes 
the  entire  content  of  his  idea.  When  he  becomes  aware 
of  its  presence,  sexual  excitement  occurs,  and  the  fetich 
makes  itself  felt.^ 

According  to  all  observations  thus  far  made,  patho- 
logical fetichism  seems  to  arise  only  on  the  basis  of  a 
psychopathic  constitution  that  is  for  the  most  part 
hereditary,  or  on  the  basis  of  existent  mental  disease. 

Thus  it  happens  that  it  not  infrequently  appears  com- 
bined with  the  other  (original)  sexual  perversions  that 
arise  on  the  same  basis.  Not  infrequently  fetichism  occurs 
in  the  most  various  forms  in  combination  with  contrary 
sexuality,  sadism,  and  masochism.  Indeed,  certain  forms 
of  body-fetichism  (hand-  and  foot-fetichism)  probably  have 
a  more  or  less  distinct  connection  with  the  latter  two 
perversions  (v.  iyifra). 

But  if  fetichism  also  rests  upon  a  congenital  general 
psychopathic  disposition,  yet  this  perversion  is  not,  like 
those  previously  considered,  essentially  of  an  original 
nature  ;  it  is  not  congenitally  perfect,  as  we  may  well 
assume  sadism  and  masochism  to  be. 

While  in  the  sexual  perversions  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters  we  have  met  only  cases  of  congenital  type, 

1  In  Zola's  "  Therese  Raquiu,  wliere  the  lover  repeatedly  kisses  his 
mistress-'s  boot,  the  case  is  quite  different  from  that  of  shoo-  and  boot- 
fetichists,  who,  at  the  sight  of  every  boot  worn  by  a  lady,  or  even  alone, 
are  thrown  into  sexual  excitement,  even  to  the  extent  of  ejaculation. 


FETTCHTSM,  211 

here  we  meet  only  acquired  cases.  Aside  from  the  fact 
that  often  in  fetichism  the  causative  circumstance  of  its 
acquirement  is  traced,  yet  the  physiological  conditions  are 
wanting,  which  in  sadism  and  masochism,  by  means  of 
sexual  hyperaesthesia,  are  intensified  to  perversions,  and 
justify  the  assumption  of  congenital  origin.  In  fetichism, 
every  case  requires  an  event  which  affords  the  ground  for 
the  perversion. 

As  has  been  said,  it  is,  of  course,  physiological  in  sexual 
life  to  be  partial  to  one  or  another  of  woman's  charms, 
and  to  be  enthusiastic  about  it ;  but  concentration  of  the 
entire  sexual  interest  on  such  partial  impression  is  here 
the  essential  thing ;  and  for  this  concentration  there  must 
be  a  particular  reason  in  every  individual  affected.  There- 
fore, we  may  accept  BineVs  conclusion  that  in  the  life 
of  every  fetichist  there  may  he  assumed  to  have  been  some  evetit 
which  determined  the  association  of  kistful  feeling  with  the  single 
impression.  This  event  must  be  sought  for  in  the  time  of 
early  youth,  and,  as  a  rule,  occurs  in  connection  with  the 
first  awakening  of  the  vita  sexualis.  This  first  awakeninc^ 
is  associated  with  some  partial  sexual  impression  (since  it 
is  always  a  thing  standing  m  some  relation  to  woman), 
and  stamps  it  for  life  as  the  principal  object  of  sexual 
interest.  The  circumstances  under  which  the  association 
arises  are  usually  forgotten  ;  the  result  of  the  association 
alone  is  retained.  The  general  predisposition  to  psycho- 
pathic states  and  the  sexual  hyperaesthesia  of  such  indi- 
viduals are  all  that  is  original  here.^ 

^  Though  Binet  {op.  cit.)  declares  that  every  sexual  perversion,  with- 
out exception,  depends  upon  such  an  "  accident  acting  on  a  predisposed 
subject "  (where,  under  predisposition,  only  hyperaesthesia  in  general  is 
understood),  yet  such  an  assumption  for  other  perversions  than  fetichism 
is  neither  necessary  nor  satisfactory.  For  example,  it  is  not  clear  how 
the  sight  of  another's  chastisement  could  excite  sexually  even  a  very  excit- 
able individual,  if  the  physiological  relationship  of  lust  and  cruelty  had 
not  been  developed  into  original  sadism  in  an  abnormally  excitable  indi- 
vidual. As  the  sadistic  and  masochistic  associations  are  preformed  in  the 
mind  of  the  subject  from  homogeneous  elements  in  adjacent  spheres,  in 


212  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Like  the  other  perversions  thus  far  considered,  erotic 
(pathological)  fetichism  may  also  express  itself  in  strange, 
unnatural,  and  even  criminal  acts  :  gratification  vi^ith  the 
female  person  loco  indeblto,  theft  and  robbery  of  objects  of 
fetichism,  pollution  of  such  objects,  etc.  Here,  too,  it  only 
depends  upon  the  intensity  of  the  perverse  impulse  and 
the  relative  power  of  opposing  ethical  motives,  whether 
and  to  what  extent  such  acts  are  performed. 

These  perverse  acts  of  fetichists,  like  those  of  other 
sexually  perverse  individuals,  may  either  alone  constitute 
the  entire  external  vita  sexualis,  or  occur  parallel  with 
the  normal  sexual  act.  This  depends  upon  the  condition 
of  physical  and  psychical  sexual  power,  and  the  degree  of 
excitability  to  normal  stimuli  that  has  been  retained. 
Where  excitabihty  is  diminished,  not  infrequently  the 
sight  or  touch  of  the  fetich  serves  as  a  necessary  pre- 
paratory act. 

The  great  practical  importance  which  attaches  to  the 
facts  of  fetichism,  in  accordance  with  what  has  been 
said,  Hes  in  two  factors.  In  the  first  place,  pathological 
fetichism  is  not  infrequently  a  cause  of  j^sychical  ijnpotence} 
Since  the  object  upon  which  the  sexual  interest  of  the 
fetichist  is  concentrated  stands,  in  itself,  in  no  immediate 
relation  to  the  normal  sexual  act,  it  often  happens  that 

the  same  measure  is  the  possibility  of  fetichistic  associations  prepared  by 
the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  object  and  thus  easier  understood.  In  nearly 
every  instance  it  is  impressions  of  parts  of  the  female  form  (including 
garments)  that  are  in  question.  Fetichistic  association  which  originated 
only  by  mere  accident  can  only  be  traced  in  a  few  special  cases. 

1  When  young  husbands  who  have  associated  much  with  prostitutes 
feel  impotent  in  the  face  of  the  chastity  of  their  young  wives  —a  thing  of 
frequent  occurence— the  condition  may  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  (psy- 
chical) fetichism  in  a  wider  sense.  One  of  my  patients  was  never  potent 
with  his  beautiful  and  chaste  young  wife,  because  he  was  accustomed 
to  the  lascivious  methods  of  prostitutes.  When  he  now  and  then  at- 
tempted coitus  with  puellis  he  was  perfectly  potent.  Hammond  (op.  cit. 
pp.  48,  49)  reports  a  very  similar  interesting  case.  Of  course,  in  such 
cases,  a  bad  conscience  and  hypochondriacal  fear  of  impotence  play  an 
important  part. 


FETICHISM.  213 

the  fetichist  diminishes  his  excitability  to  normal  stimuli 
by  his  perversion,  or,  at  least,  is  ca.pable  of  coitus  only 
by  means  of  concentration  of  his  fancy  upon  his  fetich. 
In  this  perversion,  and  in  the  difficulty  of  its  adequate 
gratification,  just  as  in  the  other  perversions  of  the  sexual 
instinct,  lie  conditions  favouring  psj^cbical  and  physical 
onanism,  which  again  reacts  deleteriously  on  the  constitu- 
tion and  sexual  power.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  case 
of  youthful  individuals,  and  particularly  in  the  case  of 
those  who,  on  account  of  opposing  ethical  and  sesthetic 
motives,  shrink  from  the  realisation  of  their  perverse 
desires. 

Secondly,  fetichism  is  of  great  forensic  vnportance.  Just 
as  sadism  may  extend  to  murder  and  the  infliction  of 
bodily  injury,  fetichism  may  lead  to  theft  and  even  to 
robbery  for  the  possession  of  the  desired  'articles. 

Erotic  fetichism  has  for  its  object  either  a  certain 
portion  of  the  body  of  a  person  of  the  opposite  sex,  or 
a  certain  article  or  material  of  wearing  apparel  of  the 
opposite  sex.  (Only  cases  of  pathological  fetichism  in 
men  have  thus  far  been  observed,  and  therefore  only 
portions  of  the  female  person  and  attire  are  spoken  of 
here.)  In  accordance  with  this,  fetichists  fall  into  three 
groups. 

(a)  The  Fetich  is  a  Part  of  the  Female  Body. 

Just  as,  in  physiological  fetichism,  the  eye,  the  hand, 
the  foot  and  the  hair  of  woman  frequently  become  fetiches, 
so,  in  the  pathological  domain,  the  same  portions  of  the 
body  become  the  sole  objects  of  sexual  interest.  This 
exclusive  concentration  of  interest  on  these  parts,  by  the 
side  of  which  everything  else  feminine  fades,  and  all  other 
sexual  value  of  woman  may  sink  to  nil,  so  that,  instead  of 
coitus,  strange  manipulations  of  the  fetich  become  the 
object  of  desire, — this  it  is  that  makes  these  cases  patho- 
logical. 


214  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Case  72.  (Binet,  op.  cit.)  X.,  aged  thirty-four,  teacher 
in  a  gymnasium.  In  childhood  he  suffered  from  convul- 
sions. At  the  age  of  ten  he  began  to  masturbate,  with 
lustful  feelings,  which  were  connected  with  very  strange 
ideas.  He  was  particularly  partial  to  women's  eyes  ;  but 
since  he  wished  to  imagine  some  form  of  coitus,  and  was 
absolutely  innocent  in  sexual  matters,  to  avoid  too  great 
a  separation  from  the  eyes,  he  evolved  the  idea  of  making 
the  nostrils  the  seat  of  the  female  sexual  organs.  Then 
his  vivid  sexual  desires  were  revolved  around  this  idea. 
He  sketched  drawings  representing  correct  Greek  profiles 
of  female  heads,  but  the  nostrils  were  so  large  that 
immissio  penis  would  have  been  possible. 

One  day,  in  an  omnibus,  he  saw  a  girl  in  whom  he 
thought  he  recognised  his  ideal.  He  followed  her  to  her 
home  and  immediately  proposed  to  her.  Shown  the  door, 
he  returned  again  and  again,  until  arrested.  X.  never  had 
sexual  intercourse. 

Hand-fetichists  are  very  numerous.  The  following 
case  is  not  really  pathological.  It  is  given  here  as  a 
transitional  case  : — 

Case  73.  B.,  of  neuropathic  family,  very  sensual 
mentally  intact.  At  the  sight  of  the  hand  of  a  beautiful 
young  lady  he  is  always  charmed  and  feels  sexual  excite- 
ment to  the  extent  of  erection.  It  is  his  delight  to  kiss 
and  press  such  hands.  As  long  as  they  are  covered  with 
gloves  he  feels  unhappy.  By  pretexts  he  tries  to  get  hold 
of  such  hands.  He  is  indifferent  to  the  foot.  If  the 
beautiful  hands  are  ornamented  with  rings,  his  lust  is 
increased.  Only  the  living  hand,  not  its  image,  causes 
him  this  lustful  excitement.  It  is  only  when  he  is 
exhausted  sexually  by  frequent  coitus  that  the  hand 
loses  its  sexual  charm.  At  first  the  memory-picture 
of  female  hands  disturbed  him  even  while  at  work  {Binet, 
op.  cit.). 


FETICHISM.  215 

Binet  states  that  such  cases  of  enthusiasm  for  the 
female  hand  are  numerous.  Here  it  may  be  recalled  that, 
according  to  case  23,  a  man  may  be  partial  to  the  female 
hand  as  a  result  of  sadistic  impulses  ;  and  that,  according 
to  case  44,  the  same  thing  may  be  due  to  masochistic 
desires.  Thus  such  cases  have  more  than  one  meanino-. 
But  it  does  by  no  means  follow  that  all,  or  even  a 
majority,  of  the  cases  of  hand-fetichism  allow  or  require 
a  sadistic  or  masochistic  explanation 

The  following  interesting  case,  that  has  been  studied 
in  detail,  shows  that,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  at  first  a 
sadistic  or  masochistic  element  seems  to  have  exercised 
an  influence,  at  the  time  of  the  individual's  maturity 
and  the  complete  development  of  the  perversion,  the 
latter  contained  nothing  of  these  elements.  Of  course, 
it  is  possible  that,  in  the  course  of  time,  they  disappeared  ; 
but  here  the  assumption  of  the  origin  of  the  fetichism  in 
an  accidental  association  meets  every  requirement : — 

Case  74.  A  case  of  hand-fetichism,  communicated  by 
Albert  Moll.  P.  L.,  aged  twenty-eight,  a  merchant  in  West- 
phaha.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  the  patient's  father  was 
remarkably  moody  and  somewhat  quick-tempered,  nothing 
of  a  hereditary  nature  could  be  proved  in  the  family.  At 
school  the  patient  was  not  very  dihgent ;  he  was  never 
able  to  concentrate  his  attention  on  any  one  subject  for 
any  length  of  time ;  on  the  other  hand,  from  childhood  he 
had  a  great  mclination  for  music.  His  temperainent  was 
always  nervous. 

In  August,  1890,  he  came  to  me  complaining  of  head- 
ache and  abdominal  pain,  which  in  every  way  gave  the 
impression  of  being  neurasthenic.  The  patient  also  said 
he  was  destitute  of  energy.  Only  after  accurately  directed 
questions  did  the  patient  make  the  following  statements 
concerning  his  sexual  life.  As  far  as  he  could  remember, 
the  beginnings  of  sexual  excitement  occurred  in  his  seventh 
year.    Whenever  he  saw  a  boy  of  his  own  age  urinate  and 


216  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

caught  sight  of  his  genitals,  he  became  lustfully  excited. 
L.  states  with  certainty  that  this  excitement  was  associated 
with  strongly  accentuated  erections.  Led  astray  by  another 
boy,  L.  learned  to  masturbate  at  the  age  of  seven  or  eight. 
*'  Being  of  a  very  excitable  nature,"  said  L.,  "  I  practised 
masturbation  very  frequently  until  my  eighteenth  year, 
without  gaining  any  clear  idea  of  the  evil  results  or  the 
meaning  of  the  practice."  He  was  particularly  fond  of 
practising  mutual  onanism  with  some  of  his  school-friends, 
but  it  was  by  no  means  an  indifferent  matter  who  the  other 
boy  was ;  on  the  contrary,  only  a  few  of  his  companions 
could  satisfy  him  in  this  respect.  To  the  question  as  to 
what  particularly  caused  him  to  prefer  this  or  that  boy,  L. 
replied  that  a  white,  beautifully  formed  hand  in  his  school- 
fellows impelled  him  to  practise  mutual  onanism  with 
them.  L.  further  remembered  that  frequently,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  gymnastic  lesson,  he  would  exercise  by 
himself  on  a  bar  standing  apart.  He  did  this  for  the 
purpose  of  exciting  himself  as  much  as  possible  ;  and  he 
was  so  successful  that,  without  using  his  hand  and  without 
ejaculation — L.  was  still  too  young — he  had  lustful  pleasure. 
Another  early  event  which  L.  remembers  is  interesting. 
One  day  his  favourite  companion, N.,  who  practised  mutual 
onanism  with  him,  proposed  that  L.  should  try  to  get  hold 
of  his  (N.'s)  penis,  and  he  would  do  all  he  could  to  prevent 
it,  L.  acquiesced.  In  this  way  onanism  was  directly  com- 
bined with  a  struggle  between  both  parties,  in  which  N. 
was  always  conquered.  The  struggle  always  finally  ended 
in  N.'s  being  compelled  to  allow  L.  to  practise  onanism  on 
him.  L.  assured  me  that  this  kind  of  masturbation  had 
given  him,  as  well  as  N.,  especial  pleasure.  In  this  way 
L.  continued  to  practise  masturbation  very  frequently 
until  his  eighteenth  year.  AVarned  by  a  friend,  he  then 
began  to  struggle  with  all  his  might  against  this  evil  habit. 
He  became  more  and  more  successful,  and  finally,  after 
the  first  performance  of  coitus,  he  stopped  the  practice  of 
onanism  entirely.     But  this  was  only  accomplished  in  hia 


FETICHISM.  217 

twenty-second  year.  It  now  seems  incomprehensible  to 
the  patient — and  he  says  he  is  filled  with  disgust  at  the 
thought — how  he  could  ever  have  found  pleasure  in  per- 
forming masturbation  with  other  boys.  Now,  nothing 
could  induce  him  to  touch  another  man's  genitals,  the 
sight  of  which  is  even  unpleasant  to  him.  He  has  lost 
all  inclination  for  men,  and  feels  attracted  by  women 
exclusively. 

It  must  be  mentioned,  however,  that,  although  L.  has 
a  decided  inclination  for  the  female  sex,  he  presents  an 
abnormal  phenomenon. 

The  essential  thing  in  woman  that  excites  him  is  the 
sight  of  her  beautiful  hands  ;  L.  is  by  far  more  impressed 
when  he  touches  a  beautiful  female  hand  than  he  would  be 
were  he  to  see  its  possessor  in  a  state  of  complete  nudity. 
The  extent  to  which  L.'s  preference  for  beautiful  female 
hands  goes  is  shown  by  the  following  incident : — 

L.  knew  a  beautiful  young  lady  possessed  of  every 
charm,  but  her  hands  were  quite  large  and  not  beautifully 
formed,  and  often  they  were  not  as  clean  as  L.  could  wish. 
For  this  reason  it  was  not  only  impossible  for  L.  to  con- 
ceive a  deeper  interest  in  the  lady,  but  he  was  not  able 
even  to  touch  her.  L.  believes  that  there  is  nothing  more 
disgusting  to  him  than  dirty  finger-nails;  this  alone  would 
make  it  impossible  for  him  to  touch  a  woman  who  in  all 
other  respects  was  most  beautiful.  L.  formerly,  as  a 
substitute  for  coitus,  induced  the  puella  to  perform  genital 
manipulation  with  her  hand  until  ejaculation  took  place. 

To  the  question  as  to  what  there  was  about  a  woman's 
hand  that  attracted  him  in  particular,  whether  he  saw  in 
it  a  symbol  of  power,  and  whether  it  gave  him  pleasure  to 
be  directly  humiliated  by  a  woman,  the  patient  answered 
that  only  the  beautiful  form  of  the  hand  charmed  him ; 
that  it  afforded  him  no  gratification  to  be  humiliated  by  a 
woman  ;  and  that  he  had  never  had  any  thought  to  regard 
the  hand  as  the  symbol  or  instrument  of  a  woman's  power. 
The  preference   for   the  hand   is   still  so  great  that  the 


218  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

patient  has  greater  pleasure  when  his  genitals  are  touched 
by  it  than  when  he  performs  coitus  in  vagiyiam.  Yet,  the 
patient  prefers  to  perform  the  latter,  because  it  seems  to 
him  to  be  natural,  while  the  former  seems  abnormal.  The 
touch  of  a  beautiful  female  hand  on  his  body  immediately 
causes  him  to  have  erection  ;  he  thinks  that  kissing  and 
other  contacts  do  not  exert  nearly  so  strong  an  influence. 
It  is  only  of  late  years  that  the  patient  has  performed 
coitus  frequently,  but  it  has  always  been  very  diliicult  for 
him  to  determine  to  do  it.  Moreover,  in  coitus,  he  did  not 
find  the  complete  satisfaction  he  sought.  However,  when 
he  finds  himself  near  a  woman  whom  he  would  like  to 
possess,  sometimes,  at  mere  sight  of  her,  his  sexual  excite- 
ment becomes  so  intense  that  ejaculation  results.  L. 
says  expressly  that  during  this  process  he  does  not  in- 
tentionally touch  or  press  his  genitals  ;  ejaculation  under 
such  circumstances  affords  him  much  more  pleasure  than 
he  experiences  in  actual  coitus.^ 

To  go  back,  the  patient's  dreams  were  never  about 
coitus.  When  he  had  pollutions  at  night,  they  were  almost 
always  associated  with  other  thoughts  than  those  that 
occur  in  the  normal  man.  The  patient's  dreams  are  of 
events  of  his  school-days,  when,  besides  the  mutual  onan- 
ism described,  he  had  ejaculations  whenever  he  became 
anxiously  excited.  "When,  for  example,  the  teacher  dic- 
tated an  extemporaneous  exercise,  and  L.  was  unable 
to  follow  in  translation,  ejaculation  often  occurred.''^  The 
pollutions  that  now  occur  occasionally,  at  night,  are  only 
accompanied  by  dreams  that  have  the  same  or  a  similar 

1  Great  sexual  hypersesthesia.     Cf.  note  on  p.  64. 

2  This  is  also  sexual  hypcraesthesia.  Any  intense  excitement  afiects 
the  sexual  sphere  [Bijiet's  "  Dynamogcnie  gcncrale  ").  Concerning  tliis  Dr. 
Moll  communicates  the  following  case  :  "  A  similar  thing  is  described  by 
Mr  E.,  aged  twenty-seven  ;  merchant.  While  at  school,  and  afterward,  he 
often  had  ejaculation  with  pleasurable  feeling  when  he  was  seized  with 
a  spell  of  intense  anxiety.  Besides,  almost  every  other  physical  or  mental 
pain  exerted  a  similar  influence.  E.,  as  he  states,  has  a  normal  sexual 
instinct, but  suffers  with  nervous  impotence." 


FETICHISM.  219 

subject — i.e.,  the  events  at  school  just  mentioned.  On 
account  of  his  unnatural  feeling  and  sensibility  the  patient 
thinks  he  is  incapable  of  loving  a  woman  permanently. 

Treatment  of  the  patient's  perversion  has  not  yet  been 
possible. 

This  case  of  hand-fetichism  certainly  does  not  depend 
on  masochism  or  sadism,  but  is  to  be  explained  simply 
on  the  ground  of  early  indulgence  in  mutual  onanism. 
Neither  is  there  contrary  sexual  instinct.  Before  the 
sexual  appetite  was  clearly  conscious  of  its  object,  the 
hands  of  school-fellows  were  used.  As  soon  as  the  instinct 
for  the  opposite  sex  became  evident,  the  interest  for  the 
hand  was  transferred  to  that  of  woman. 

In  hand-fetichists,  who,  according  to  Binet,  are 
numerous,  it  is  possible  that  other  associations  lead  to 
the  same  result. 

Next  to  the  hand-fetichists,  naturally  come  the  foot- 
fetichists.  While  glove-fetichism,  which  belongs  to  the 
next  group  of  object-fetichism,  seldom  takes  the  place  of 
hand-fetichism,  we  find  shoe-  and  boot-fetichism,  of  which 
there  are  innumerable  cases  occurring  everywhere,  taking 
the  place  of  enthusiasm  for  the  naked  female  foot.  It  is 
easy  to  see  the  reason  for  this.  The  female  hand  is 
usually  seen  uncovered ;  the  foot,  covered.  Thus  the 
early  associations  which  determine  the  direction  of  the 
vita  sexualis  are  naturally  connected  with  the  naked  hand, 
but  with  the  foot  when  covered. 

This  assumption  is  certainly  correct  with  regard  to 
those  who  have  grown  up  in  large  cities,  and  easily 
explains  the  scarcity  of  foot-fetichism,^  which  will  be 
elucidated  by  the  following  cases. 

Case    75.      Foot-fetichism.     Acquired   inverted  sexuality 

^  Exceptions  are  the  cases  of  latent  masochism  in  the  form  of  Kopro- 
lagnia  in  wliich  case  the  fetichistic  stimulus  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
clean  naked  foot  but  c  contra,  cf.  case  67. 


220  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Mr.  X.,  civil  servant,  twenty-nine  years  of  age  ;  mother 
neuropathic,  father  diabetic. 

Has  good  mental  qualities,  is  of  nervous  disposition, 
but  never  suffered  from  nervous  disease,  shows  no  signs 
of  degeneration.  Patient  distinctly  recalls  that  even  at 
the  age  of  six  he  became  sexually  excited  when  he  saw 
the  naked  feet  of  women,  and  was  impelled  to  follow  them, 
01:  watch  them  when  at  work. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  shpped  one  night  into  the 
room  where  his  sister  slept  and  kissed  her  foot.  At  the 
age  of  eight  he  began  spontaneously  to  masturbate,  think- 
ing all  the  while  of  the  naked  feet  of  women. 

When  sixteen  he  often  took  shoes  and  stockings  of 
servant  girls  to  bed  with  him ;  and  whilst  fingering  them 
excited  himself  into  masturbation. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  sexual  intercourse 
with  persons  of  the  opposite  sex.  He  had  full  power,  and 
coitus  satisfied  him  without  the  aid  of  a  fetich.  For 
males  he  had  not  the  slightest  sexual  inclination,  neither 
bad  the  feet  of  men  any  attraction  for  him. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  a  great  change  came  over 
bis  sexual  feelings  and  his  physical  condition. 

Patient  became  neurasthenic  and  began  to  experience 
sexual  inclination  to  males.  No  doubt  excessive  mastur- 
bation brought  about  neurosis  and  inverted  sexuality  to 
which  he  was  led  by  libido  nimia  remaining  unsated  by 
coitus,  and  by  the  sight  (accidental  or  otherwise)  of  female 

feet. 

As  neurasthenia  (at  first  sexualis)  increased,  a  rapid 
cessation  of  libido,  power  and  gratification,  with  regard 
to  women  set  in.  Parallel  with  this,  inclination  towards 
his  own  sex  developed  and  his  fetichism  was  transferred 

to  males. 

With  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  had  coitus  cum  muliere 
but  rarely,  and  without  satisfaction.  He  had  lost  nearly 
all  interest  in  the  foot  of  woman.  The  craving  to  have 
sexual  intercourse  with  men  grew  daily  stronger.      When 


FETICniSM,  221 

he  was  transferred  to  a  large  city  he  found  the  long- 
wished-for  opportunity  and  actually  revelled  with  intense 
passion  in  this  unnatural  love. 

He  ejaculated  during  these  acts  with  the  utmost 
voluptuousness.  By-and-by  the  sight  of  a  sympathetic 
man,  especially  if  he  were  barefooted,  sufficed  him. 

His  nocturnal  pollutions  had  now  for  their  object 
intercourse  with  men,  and,  to  be  sure,  in  the  fetichistic 
sense  (feet).  Shoes  did  not  interest  him.  The  naked  foot 
was  his  charm.  He  often  felt  nnpelled  to  follow  men  in 
the  street,  hoping  to  find  occasion  for  taking  off  their 
shoes.  As  a  substitute  he  went  barefooted  himself.  At 
times  he  was  driven  to  walk  along  the  street  in  his  bare 
feet,  thereby  experiencing  the  most  intense  lustful  feelings. 
If  he  resisted,  agony,  trembling,  and  palpitation  of  the 
heart  set  m.  Often  at  nights  he  yielded  to  this  impulse 
for  hours,  even  m  stormy,  rainy  weather,  not  minding  the 
many  risks  and  personal  dangers  to  which  he  exposed 
himself  oy  so  doing. 

He  would  carry  the  shoes  in  his  hand,  became  sexually 
excited,  and  only  found  satisfaction  in  spontaneous,  or 
induced  ejaculation.  He  felt  envious  of  navvies  and  the 
poor  who  could  go  barefoot  without  attracting  attention. 

His  happiest  moments  were  the  time  which  he  spent 
m  a  hydropathic  establishment,  d  la  Kneipp,  where  he 
was  allowed  to  go  barefoot  with  the  other  men  under 
treatment. 

An  awkward  affair,  the  result  of  his  perverse  sexual 
practices  sobered  him.  He  sought  safety  from  his  un- 
natural sexual  existence  by  consulting  a  physician  who 
sent  him  to  me. 

The  patient  did  his  utmost  to  abstain  from  masturba- 
tion and  perverse  connection  with  men.  He  underwent 
treatment  for  neurasthenia  in  a  hydropathic  institute, 
regained  some  interest  in  the  gentler  sex — his  foot-fetich- 
ism  serving  as  a  bridge — had  once,  with  a  degree  of  plea- 
sure, coitus  with  a  barefooted  peasant  girl  who  acceded 


222  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXIMLIS. 

to  his  wishes,  and  later  on  visited  puellas  a  few  times  but 
without  gratification.  Then  he  turned  again  to  pers(  ns 
of  his  own  sex,  backsHded  totally,  felt  irresistibly  drawn 
to  tramps  and  farm  labourers,  whom  he  paid  for  the 
favour  to  kiss  their  feet.  An  attempt  to  rescue  the 
unfortunate  man  by  suggestive  treatment  was  wrecked 
on  the  impossibility  to  remove  an  enervation  which  was 
beyond  therapeutic  aid. 

Case  76.  Foot-fetichism  with  continued  hetero- sexuality . 
Mr.  Y.,  fifty  years  of  age,  bachelor,  belongs  to  high 
society.  Consulted  a  physician  on  account  of  "  nervous  " 
troubles.  Is  tainted,  from  childhood  nervous,  very  sensi- 
tive to  cold  and  heat,  troubled  with  delusions  w^hich 
assume  the  character  of  transient  dementia  persecutoria. 
For  instance,  when  he  sits  in  a  restaurant  he  imagines 
that  everybody  stares  at  him,  talks  about,  and  makes 
fun  of  him.  As  soon  as  he  rises  this  feeling  leaves  him 
and  he  no  longer  believes  his  fancies. 

He  never  feels  settled  for  any  length  of  time,  and 
moves  about  from  one  place  to  another.  At  times  it 
happened  that  he  engaged  rooms  at  a  hotel,  but  never 
went  there  on  account  of  his  peculiar  delusions. 

He  never  had  much  libido.  All  his  sentiments  were 
heterosexual.  Now  and  then  he  found  gratification  in 
coitus  which  he  claims  to  have  been  normal. 

Y.  admitted  that  his  sexual  life  was  peculiar  from  early 
youth.  Neither  women  nor  men  excited  him  sexually, 
but  the  sight  of  female  feet,  be  they  of  children  or  grown- 
up women  would  do  so.  All  other  parts  of  the  female 
body  have  no  attraction  for  him. 

If  by  chance  he  can  see  the  naked  feet  of  female  gipsies 
or  tramps  he  can  gaze  at  them  b}^  the  hour  and  is  driven 
by  a  "  terrible  "  impulse  terere  genitalia  propria  ad  pedes 
illarum.    Thus  far  he  has  successfully  resisted  this  impulse. 

What  annoys  him  most  is  to  see  these  feet  covered 
with  dirt.     He  would  like  to  see  them  well  washed  and 


PETICHISM.  223 

clean.     He  caunot  say  how  this  fetichism  originated  in 
him  (from  a  communication  of  Professor  Ford). 

Moll  in  his  recent  researches  in  libido  sexualis,  p.  288, 
relates  a  most  interesting  case  of  foot-fetichism  which 
resembles  case  75  above,  in  so  far  as  the  patient  by  force 
of  the  fetich  became  homosexual. 

Shoe-fetichism  also  finds  its  place  in  the  following 
group  of  dress-fetichism ;  however,  on  account  of  its 
demonstrable  masochistic  character  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  it  has  been,  for  the  most  part,  described  already  (p. 
159  et  seq.). 

Besides  the  eije,  hand  and  foot,  the  moiUh  and  ear  often 
play  the  role  of  a  fetich.  Among  others,  Moll  (op.  cit.) 
mentions  such  cases,  {Cf.  Belofs  roma,nce,  "  La  liouche 
de  Madame  X.,"  which,  B.  states,  rests  upon  actual 
observation.) 

The  following  remarkable  case  came  under  my  personal 
observation  : — 

Case  77.  A  gentleman  of  very  bad  heredity  consulted 
me  concerning  impotence  that  was  driving  him  almost  to 
despair.  While  he  was  young,  his  fetich  was  women  of 
plump  form.  He  married  such  a  lady,  and  was  happy 
and  potent  with  her.  After  a  few  months  the  lady  fell 
very  ill,  and  lost  much  flesh.  When,  one  day,  he  tried  to 
resume  his  marital  duty,  he  was  absolutely  impotent,  and 
remained  so.  If,  however,  he  attempted  coitus  with  plump 
women,  he  was  perfectly  potent. 

Even  bodily  defects  may  become  fetiches. 

Case  78.  X,,  twenty-eight  years  of  age  ;  comes  from 
heavily  tainted  family ;  i.s  neurasthenic;  complains  of  want 
of  self-confidence  and  frequent  depression  of  mind,  with  fits 
of  suicidal  intentions,  wljicli  he  has  great  trouble  to  ward 


224  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUA.LIS. 

off.  The  smallest  worries  throw  him  out  of  temper,  and  fill 
him  with  despair.  He  is  an  engineer  in  a  factory  in  Rupsian- 
Poland,  a  man  of  robust  frame,  without  signs  of  degenera- 
tion. He  complains  of  a  peculiar  mania,  which  causes 
him  to  doubt  his  sanity.  Since  his  seventeenth  year  he 
becomes  sexually  excited  only  at  the  sight  of  physical 
defects  in  women,  especially  lameness  and  disfigured  feet. 
He  is  not  conscious  of  the  original  associative  connection 
between  his  libido  and  these  defects  in  women. 

Ever  since  puberty  he  has  been  under  the  bane  of  this 
fetichism,  which  is  painful  to  himself.  Normal  woman 
has  no  attraction  for  him.  If  a  woman,  however,  is  afflicted 
with  lameness  or  with  contorted  or  disfigured  feet,  she 
exercises  a  powerful  sensual  influence  over  him,  no  matter 
whether  she  is  otherwise  pretty  or  ugly. 

In  his  dreams,  accompanied  by  pollutions,  the  forms  of 
halting  women  are  ever  before  him.  At  times  he  cannot 
resist  the  temptation  to  imitate  their  gait,  which  causes 
vehement  orgasm,  with  lustful  ejaculation.  He  claims  to 
have  strong  libido,  and  suffers  intensely  when  his  sexual 
desire  remains  unsatisfied.  Despite  these  facts,  he  had 
coitus  for  the  first  time  when  he  was  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  and  then  but  five  times.  He  felt,  however,  not  the 
slightest  satisfaction  in  spite  of  complete  ability.  He 
thinks  it  would  cause  him  intense  pleasure  if  he  had  the 
chance  to  mate  with  a  halting  woman.  At  any  rate,  he 
could  never  marry  any  other  than  a  lame  woman. 

Since  his  twentieth  year  the  patient  manifests  fetich- 
ism for  garments.  It  often  suffices  him  to  put  on  female 
stockings,  shoes  and  drawers.  He  buys  such  wearing 
apparel  at  times  and,  putting  it  on  secretly,  becomes  lust- 
fully excited  and  ejaculates.  Garments  which  have  been 
worn  by  women  have  no  attraction  for  him.  He  would 
fain  prefer  to  wear  female  garb,  so  as  to  keep  up  sensual 
emotions,  but  has  not  yet  dared  to  do  so  for  fear  of  being 
detected. 

His  vita  sexualis  is  reduced  to  these  practices.     He  is 


FETTCHTSM.  225 

definite  in  asserting  that  he  never  was  addicted  to  mastur- 
bation. Quite  recently  he  has  been,  in  consequence  of  his 
neurasthenic  afflictions,  much  troubled  with  pollutions. 

Case  79.  Mr  V.,  thirty  years,  civil  servant  ;  comes 
from  very  neuropathic  parents.  Since  his  seventh  year  he 
had  for  a  playmate  a  lame  girl  of  the  same  age. 

At  the  age  of  twelve,  being  of  a  nervous  disposition  and 
hypersexually  inclined,  the  boy  began  spontaneously  to 
masturbate.  At  that  period  puberty  began  to  set  in,  and 
it  lies  beyond  doubt  that  the  first  sexual  emotions  towards 
the  other  sex  were  coincident  with  the  sight  of  the  lame 
girl. 

For  ever  after  only  halting  women  excited  him  sexu- 
ally. His  fetich  is  a  pretty  lady  who,  like  the  companion 
of  his  childhood,  limps  with  the  left  foot. 

Always  heterosexual  but  abnormally  sensual  he  sought 
early  relations  with  the  opposite  sex,  but  was  absolutely 
impotent  with  women  who  were  not  lame.  Virility  and 
gratification  were  most  strongly  elicited  if  the  puella 
limped  with  the  left  foot,  but  he  was  successful  also  if 
the  lameness  were  in  the  right  foot.  As,  in  consequence 
of  his  fetichism  the  opportunities  for  coitus  occurred  but 
seldom,  he  resorted  to  masturbation,  but  found  it  a  dis- 
gusting and  miserable  substitute.  His  sexual  anomaly 
rendered  him  very  unhappy,  and  he  was  often  near  com- 
mitting suicide,  but  regard  for  his  parents  prevented  him. 
This  moral  affliction  culminated  in  the  desire  for 
marriage  with  a  sympathetic  lame  lady,  but  since  he  could 
not  love  the  soul  of  such  a  wife,  but  only  her  defect  of 
lameness,  he  considered  such  a  union  a  profanation  of 
matrimony  and  an  unbearable,  ignoble  existence.  On 
this  account  he  had  often  thought  of  resignation  and 
castration. 

When  V.  came  to  me  for  advice  I  obtained,  in  my 
examination  of  him,  only  negative  results  as  regards  signs 
of  degeneration,  nervous  disease,  etc. 

15 


226  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

I  enlightened  the  patient  on  the  subject,  and  told  him 
that  it  was  difficult,  if  not  absolutely  impossible,  for 
medical  science  to  obliterate  a  fetichism  so  deeply  rooted 
by  old  associations,  but  expressed  the  hope  that  if  he 
made  a  limping  maid  happy  in  wedlock  he  himself  would 
find  happiness  also. 

Descartes,  who  himself  ("  Traite  des  Passions,"  cxxxvi.) 
expresses  some  opinions  concerning  the  origin  of  peculiar 
affections  in  associations  of  ideas,  was  always  partial  to 
cross-eyed  women,  because  the  object  of  his  first  love  had 
such  a  defect  {Binet,  op.  cit.). 

Lydston  ("A  Lecture  on  Sexual  Perversion,"  Chicago, 
1890)  reports  the  case  of  a  man  who  had  a  love  affair 
with  a  woman  whose  right  lower  extremity  had  been 
amputated.  After  separation  from  her  he  searched  for 
other  women  with  a  like  defect.     A  negative  fetich  ! 

A  peculiar  variety  of  body  fetichism  may  be  found  in 
the  following  case  (strongly  complicated  with  sadistic  ele- 
ments), in  which  fine  white  virgin  skin  is  the  fetich,  and 
sadism  leads  to  lustful  acts  of  cruelty  (as  an  equivalent  to 
coitus),  even  to  anthropophagy  (cf.  p.  82  et  seq.),  for  which 
the  deeply  degenerated  and  probably  epileptic  patient  seeks 
to  find  a  substitute  in  antomutilation  and  autophagy. 

C^se  80.  L.,  labourer,  was  arrested  because  he  had 
cut  a  large  piece  of  skin  from  his  left  forearm  with  a  pair 
of  scissors  in  a  public  park. 

He  confesses  that  for  a  long  time  he  had  been  craving 
to  eat  a  piece  of  the  fine  white  skin  of  a  maiden,  and  that  for 
this  purpose  he  had  been  lying  in  wait  for  such  a  victim 
with  a  pair  of  scissors  ;  but,  as  he  had  been  unsuccessful, 
he  desisted  from  his  purpose  and  instead  had  cut  his  own 
skin. 

His  father  was  an  epileptic,  and  his  sister  an  imbecile. 
Up  to  his  seventeenth  year  he  suffered  from  enuresis  noc- 
turna,  was  dreaded  by  everybody  on  account  of  his  rough 


PETICHISM.  227 

and  irascible  nature,  and  dismissed  from  school  because  of 
his  insubordination  and  viciousness. 

He  began  onanism  at  an  early  age,  and  read  with 
preference  pious  books.  His  character  showed  traits  of 
superstition,  proneness  to  the  mystic,  and  showy  acts  of 
devotion. 

When  thirteen  his  lustful  anomaly  awoke  at  the  sight 
of  a  beautiful  young  girl  who  had  a  fine  white  skin.  The 
impulse  to  bite  off  a  piece  of  that  skin  and  eat  it  became 
paramount  with  him.  No  other  parts  of  the  female  body 
excited  him.  He  never  had  any  desire  for  sexual  inter- 
course, and  never  attempted  such. 

He  hoped  to  achieve  his  end  easier  with  the  aid  of 
scissors  than  with  his  teeth,  for  which  reason  he  always 
carried  a  pair  with  him  for  years.  On  several  occasions 
his  efforts  were  nearly  successful.  Since  the  previous  year 
he  found  it  most  difficult  to  bear  his  failures  any  longer, 
when  he  decided  upon  a  substitute — viz.,  each  time  when 
he  had  unsuccessfully  pursued  a  girl  he  would  cut  a  piece 
of  skin  from  his  own  arm,  thigh  or  abdomen  and  eat  it. 
Imagining  that  it  was  a  piece  of  the  skin  of  the  girl  whom  he  had 
pursued,  he  would  whilst  masticating  his  own  skin  obtain 
orgasm  and  ejaculation. 

Many  extensive  and  deep  wounds  and  numerous  scars 
were  found  on  his  body. 

During  the  act  of  self-mutilation,  and  for  a  long  time 
afterwards,  he  suffered  severe  pains,  but  tbey  were  over- 
compensated  by  the  lustful  feelings  which  he  experienced 
whilst  eating  the  raw  flesh,  especially  if  the  latter  dripped 
with  blood,  and  when  he  succeeded  in  his  illusion  that  it 
was  ctUis  virginis.  The  mere  sight  of  a  knife  or  scissors 
sufficed  to  provoke  this  perverse  impulse,  which  throws 
him  into  a  state  of  anxiety,  accompanied  by  profuse  per- 
spiration, vertigo,  palpitation  of  the  heart,  craving  for 
cutis  femincB.  He  must,  with  scissors  in  hand,  follow  the 
woman  that  attracts  him,  but  he  does  not  lose  conscious- 
ness or  self-control,  for  at  the  acme  of  the  crisis  he  takes 


228  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

from  his  own  what  is  denied  him  from  the  body  of  the  girh 
During  the  whole  crisis  he  has  erection  and  orgasm,  and 
at  the  very  moment  when  he  begins  to  chew  the  piece  of 
his  skin  ejaculation  sets  in.  After  that  he  feels  greatly 
relieved  and  comforted. 

L.  is  quite  conscious  of  the  pathological  aspect  of  his 
condition.  Of  course,  this  dangerous  character  was  sent 
to  an  insane  asylum,  where  he  attempted  suicide  (Magnan 
"  Psychiatrische  Vorlesungen  "). 

An  interesting  category  is  formed  by  the  hair-fetichists. 
The  transition  from  "  admirer  of  woman's  hair  "  within 
physiological  limits  to  pathological  feticbism  is  easy.  The 
beginning  of  the  pathological  series  is  formed  by  those 
cases  in  which  the  hair  of  a  woman  simply  makes  a  sensual 
impression  and  incites  to  cohabitation.  Then  follow  those 
in  which  virility  is  only  possible  with  a  woman  who  pos- 
sesses this  individual  fetich.  Possibly  various  senses 
(sight,  smell,  hearing,  through  crepitant  sounds,  also  touch 
as  with  velvet-  and  silk-fetichists,  vide  infra)  are  drawn 
into  activity  in  this  hair-fetichism  as  they  receive  lustful 
impulses. 

The  end  of  the  series  is  formed  by  those  whom  the  hair 
of  woman  suffices  even  when  severed  from  the  body — so 
to  speak,  no  longer  a  part  of  the  living  body,  but  only 
matter,  even  a  mercantile  article — to  excite  libido  and 
sensual  gratification  by  way  of  physical  or  psychical  onan- 
ism, eventually  under  contact  of  the  genitals  with  the 
fetich.  An  interesting  instance  of  a  hair-fetichist  belong- 
ing to  the  second  catagory  is  related  by  Dr.  Gemij,  under 
the  title  of  "  Histoire  des  peruques  aphrodisiaques,"  in 
"La  Medecine  Internationale,"  September,  1894. 

A  lady  told  Dr.  Gemy  that  in  the  bridal  night  and  in  the 
night  following  her  husband  contented  himself  with  kiss- 
ing her,  andrunning  his  fingers  through  the  wealth  of  her 
tresses.  He  then  fell  asleep.  In  the  third  night  Mr  X, 
produced  an  immense  wig,  with  enormously  long  hair,  and 


FETICHISM.  229 

begged  his  wife  to  put  it  on.  As  soon  as  she  had  done  so, 
he  richly  compensated  her  for  his  neglected  marital  duties. 
In  the  morning  he  showed  again  extreme  tenderness,  whilst 
he  caressed  the  wig.  When  Mrs  X.  removed  the  wig  she 
lost  at  once  all  charm  for  her  husband.  Mrs.  X.  recog- 
nised this  as  a  hobby,  and  readily  yielded  to  the  wishes  of 
her  husband,  whom  she  loved  dearly,  and  whose  libido 
depended  on  the  wearing  of  the  wig.  It  was  remarkable, 
however,  that  a  wig  had  the  desired  effect  only  for  a  fort- 
night or  three  weeks  at  a  time.  It  had  to  be  made  of 
thick,  long  hair,  no  matter  of  what  colour 

The  result  of  this  marriage  was,  after  five  years,  two 
children,  and  a  collection  of  seventy-two  wigs. 

In  those  cases  in  which  the  female  hair  as  mere 
matter  possesses  the  properties  of  a  fetich,  it  not  uncom- 
monly happens  that  the  fetichist  seeks  to  possess  himself 
of  woman's  hair  by  unlawful  acts.  These  form  the  group 
of  hair-despoilers,  of  no  slight  importance  from  the  forensic 
aspect.^ 

Case  81 .  A  hair-despoiler.  P.,  aged  forty,  artistic 
locksmith,  single.  His  father  was  temporarily  insane, 
and  his  mother  was  very  nervous.  He  was  well  de- 
veloped and  intelligent,  but  was  early  affected  with  tics 
and  delusions.  He  had  never  masturbated.  He  loved 
platonically,  and  often  busied  himself  with  matrimonial 
plans.  He  had  coitus  infrequently  with  prostitutes,  but 
never  felt  satisfied  with  such  intercourse — rather,  dis- 
gusted. Three  years  ago  he  was  overtaken  by  misfortune 
(financial  ruin),  and  besides,  he  had  a  febrile  disease, 
with  dehrium.  These  things  had  a  very  bad  effect  on 
his  hereditarily  predisposed  nervous   system.      On  28th 

^  Moll  (op.  cit.,  p.  131)  reports  :  "  A  man,  X.,  becomes  intensely  excited 
sexually  whenever  he  sees  a  woman  with  the  hair  in  a  braid  ;  loose  hair, 
no  matter  how  beautiful,  cannot  produce  this  effect  ". 

Of  course,  it  is  not  justifiable  to  consider  all  hair-despoilers  fetichists, 
for  in  a  few  cases  such  acts  are  done  for  the  purpose  of  gain — i.e.,  the  stolen 
hair  is  not  a  fetich. 


230  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Au;];ust,  1889,  P.  was  arrested  at  the  Trocadero,  in  Paris, 
in  flagranti,  as  he  forcibly  cut  off  a  young  girl's  hair.  He 
was  arrested  with  the  hair  in  his  hand  and  a  pair  of 
scissors  in  his  pocket  He  excused  himself  on  the  ground 
of  momentary  mental  confusion  and  an  unfortunate,  irre- 
sistible passion  ;  he  confessed  that  he  had  ten  times  cut 
off  hair,  which  he  took  great  delight  in  keeping  at  home. 
On  searching  his  home,  sixty-five  switches  and  tresses  of 
hair  were  found,  assorted  in  packets.  P.  had  already  been 
once  arrested,  on  15th  December,  1886,  under  similar 
circumstances,  but  was  released  for  lack  of  evidence. 

P.  states  that,  for  the  last  three  3'ears,  when  he  is 
alone  in  his  room  at  night,  he  feels  ill,  anxious,  excited 
and  dizzy,  and  then  is  troubled  by  the  impulse  to  touch 
female  hair.  When  it  happened  that  he  could  actually 
Lake  a  young  girl's  hair  in  his  hand,  he  felt  intensely 
excited  sexually,  and  had  erection  and  ejaculation  without 
touching  the  girl  in  any  other  way.  On  reaching  home, 
he  would  feel  ashamed  of  what  had  taken  place ;  but  the 
wish  to  possess  hair,  always  accompanied  by  great  sexual 
pleasure,  became  more  and  more  powerful  in  him.  He 
wondered  that  previously,  even  in  the  most  intimate  inter- 
course with  women  he  had  experienced  no  such  feeling. 
One  evening  he  could  not  resist  the  impulse  to  cut  off  a 
girl's  hair.  With  the  hair  in  his  hand,  at  home,  the 
sensuous  process  was  repeated.  He  was  forced  to  rub  his 
body  with  the  hair  and  envelop  his  genitals  in  it.  Finally, 
quite  exhausted,  he  grew  ashamed,  and  could  not  trust 
himself  to  go  out  for  several  days.  After  months  of  rest 
he  was  again  impelled  to  possess  himself  of  female  hair, 
indifferent  as  to  whose  it  might  be.  If  he  attained  his 
end,  he  felt  himself  possessed  by  a  supernatural  power 
and  unable  to  give  up  his  booty.  If  he  could  not  attain 
the  object  of  his  desire,  he  became  greatly  depressed, 
hurried  home,  and  there  revelled  in  his  collection  of  hair. 
He  combed  and  fondled  it,  and  thus  had  intense  orgasm, 
satisfying  himself  by  masturbation.     Hair  exposed  in  the 


FETICHISM.  231 

show-cases  of  hair-dressers- made  no  impression  on  him  ; 
it  required  hair  hanginj^  down  from  a  female  head. 

At  the  height  of  his  act,  he  states,  he  is  in  such  a 
state  of  excitement  that  he  has  only  imperfect  appercep- 
tion and  subsequent  recollection  of  what  he  does.  When 
he  touches  the  hair  with  the  scissors  he  has  erection,  and, 
at  the  instant  of  cutting  it  off,  ejaculation.  Since  his 
misfortune,  about  three  years  ago,  he  states  that  he  has 
had  weakness  of  memory,  is  easily  exhausted  mentally, 
and  has  been  troubled  by  sleeplessness  and  night-terrors. 
P.  deeply  regrets  his  crime. 

Not  only  hair,  but  a  number  of  hair-pins,  ribbons  and 
other  articles  of  the  feminine  toilet,  were  found  in  his 
possession,  which  he  had  had  presented  to  him.  He  had 
always  had  an  actual  mania  for  collecting  such  things,  as 
well  as  newspapers,  pieces  of  wood  and  other  worthless 
trash,  which  he  would  never  give  up.  He  also  had  a 
strange  and,  to  him,  inexplicable  fear  of  passing  a  certain 
street ;  if  he  ever  tried  it,  it  made  him  ill. 

The  opinion  (medico-legal)  showed  him  to  be  heredi- 
tarily predisposed,  and  proved  the  imperative,  impulsive 
and  decidedly  involuntary  character  of  the  criminal  acts, 
which  had  the  significance  of  an  imperative  act,  induced 
by  an  imperative  idea,  with  an  accompaniment  of  over- 
powering abnormal  sexual  feeling.  Pardon  ;  asylum  for 
insane  {Voisin,  Socquet,  Motet,  "Annales  d'hygiene,"  April, 
1890). 

Following  this  case  is  a  similar  one,  which  also  deserves 
attention,  for  it  has  been  well  studied,  and  may  be  called 
almost  classical ;  and  it  places  also  the  fetich,  as  well  as 
the  original  associative  awakening  of  the  idea,  in  a  clear 
light  :— 

Case  82.  A  hnir-de spoiler.  E-.,  aged  twenty-five. 
Maternal  aunt,  epileptic ;  brother  had  convulsions.  E. 
says  he  was  fairly  healthy  as  a  child,  and  learned  quite 


232  rSYCHOPATHlA   SEXUALIS. 

easily.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  had  an  erotic  feeling  of 
pleasure,  with  erection,  at  the  sight  of  one  of  the  village 
beauties  combing-  her  hair.  Until  that  time  persons  of 
the  opposite  sex  had  made  no  impression  on  him.  Two 
months  later,  in  Paris,  the  sight  of  young  girls  with  their 
hair  flowing  down  over  their  shoulders  always  excited  him 
intensely.  One  day  he  could  not  resist  an  opportunity  to 
twist  a  young  girl's  hair  in  his  fingers.  For  this  he  was 
arrested  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  three  months. 
After  that  he  served  five  years  in  the  army.  During  this 
time  hair  was  not  dangerous  for  him,  because  not  very 
accessible ;  but  he  dreamed  sometim.es  of  female  heads 
with  the  hair  braided  or  flowing.  Occasional  coitus  with 
women,  but  without  their  hair  being  effective  as  a  fetich. 
Once  more  in  Paris,  he  again  dreamed  as  before,  and 
became  greatly  excited  by  female  hair.  He  never  dreamed 
about  the  whole  form  of  a  woman,  only  of  heads  with 
braidSv  of  hair.  His  sexual  excitement  due  to  this  fetich 
had  become  so  intense  of  late  that  he  had  resorted  to  mas- 
turbation. The  idea  of  touching  female  hair,  or,  better, 
of  possessing  it  to  masturbate  w^hile  handling  it,  grew 
more  and  more  powerful.  Of  late,  when  he  had  female 
hair  in  his  fingers,  ejaculation  was  induced.  One  day  he 
succeeded  in  cutting  hair,  about  twenty-five  centimetres 
long,  from  three  little  girls  in  the  street,  and  keeping  it  in 
his  possession,  when  he  was  arrested  in  a  fourth  attempt. 
Deep  regret  and  shame.  He  was  not  sentenced.  Since 
spending  some  time  in  the  asylum,  he  has  so  far  improved 
that  female  hair  no  longer  excites  him.  Set  at  hberty,  he 
thought  of  going  to  his  native  place,  where  the  women 
wear  their  hair  done  up  {Magnan,  "  Archiv.  de  I'anthro- 
pol.  criminelle,"  v..  No.  28). 

A  third  case  is  the  following,  which  is  hkewise  suited 
to  illustrate  the  psychopathic  nature  of  such  pheno- 
mena ;  and  the  remarkable  means  which  induced  a  cure 
are  worthy  of  note  : — 


FETICHISM  233 

Case  83.  Hair-fctichism.  Mr.  X.,  between  thirty  and 
forty  years  old  ;  from  the  higher  class  of  society  ;  single. 
He  says  that  he  comes  of  a  healthy  family,  but  from 
childhood  has  been  nervous,  vacillating  and  peculiar  ; 
that  since  his  eighth  year  he  has  been  powerfully  attracted 
by  female  hair.  This  was  particularly  true  in  the  case 
of  young  girls.  When  he  was  nine  years  old,  a  girl  of 
thirteen  seduced  him.  He  did  not  understand  it,  and  was 
not  at  all  excited.  A  twelve-year-old  sister  of  this  girl 
also  courted,  kissed,  and  hugged  him.  He  allowed  this 
quietly,  because  this  girl's  hair  pleased  him  so  well. 
When  about  ten  years  old,  he  began  to  have  erotic 
feelings  at  the  sight  of  female  hair  that  pleased  him. 
Gradually  these  feelings  occurred  spontaneously,  and 
memory-pictures  of  girl's  hair  were  always  immediately 
associated  with  them.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  was 
taught  to  masturbate  by  school-mates.  The  associative 
connection  of  sexual  feelings  and  a  fetichistic  idea  were 
already  established,  and  always  appeared  when  the  patient 
indulged  in  evil  practices  with  his  companions.  With 
advancing  years,  the  fetich  grew  more  and  more  power- 
ful. Even  false  hair  began  to  excite  him,  but  he  always 
preferred  natural  hair.  When  he  could  touch  or  kiss  it, 
he  was  perfectly  happy.  He  wrote  essays  and  poems  on 
the  beauty  of  female  hair  ;  he  sketched  heads  of  hair 
and  masturbated.  After  his  fourteenth  year  he  became 
so  powerfully  excited  by  his  fetich  that  he  had  violent 
erections.  In  contrast  with  his  early  taste  while  a  boy, 
he  was  now  charmed  only  by  luxuriant,  thick  black  hair. 
He  experienced  intense  desire  to  kiss  such  hair,  particu- 
larly to  suck  it.  To  touch  such  hair  afforded  him  but 
httle  satisfaction  ;  he  obtained  much  more  pleasure  in 
looking  at  it,  but  particularly  in  kissing  and  sucking  it. 
If  this  were  impossible,  he  would  become  unhappy,  even 
to  the  extent  of  tadium  vitce.  Then  he  would  attempt  to 
relieve  himself,  imagining  fantastic  "  hair-adventures  " 
and   masturbating.     Not  infrequently,  in  the  street  and 


234  PSYCHOPATHIA    SBXUALIS. 

in  crowds,  he  could  not  keep  from  imprinting  a  kiss  on 
ladies'  heads.  He  would  then  hurry  home  to  masturbate. 
Sometimes  he  could  resist  this  impulse  ;  but  it  was  then 
necessary  for  him,  filled  with  feehngs  of  fear,  to  run  away 
as  quickly  as  possible,  in  order  to  escape  the  domination 
of  his  fetich.  He  was  only  once  impelled  to  cut  off  a  girl's 
hair  in  a  crowd.  In  the  act  he  was  seized  with  fear,  and 
was  not  successful  with  his  pocket-knife  ;  and,  by  flight, 
he  narrowly  escaped  detection. 

When  he  became  mature,  he  attempted  to  satisfy  him- 
self in  coitus  with  pucllis.  He  induced  powerful  erection 
by  kissing  the  tresses,  but  could  not  induce  ejaculation. 
Therefore,  he  was  unsatisfied  by  coitus.  At  the  same  time, 
his  favourite  idea  was  coitus  with  kissing  of  hair  ;  but 
even  this  did  not  satisfy  him,  because  it  did  not  induce 
ejaculation.  Faide  de  mieux,  he  once  stole  the  combings 
of  a  lady's  hair,  put  it  in  his  mouth,  and  masturbated 
while  calling  its  owner  up  in  imagination.  In  the  dark  a 
woman  could  not  interest  him,  because  he  could  not  then 
see  her  hair.  Flowing  hair  also  had  no  cbarm  for  him  ; 
nor  did  the  hair  about  the  genitals.  His  erotic  dreams 
were  all  about  hair.  Of  late  the  patient  had  become 
so  excited  that  he  had  a  kind  of  satyriasis.  He  was 
incapable  of  business,  and  felt  so  unhappy  that  he  sought 
to  drown  his  soirow  in  alcohol.  He  drank  large  quantities, 
had  alcohohc  delirium,  an  attack  of  alcoholic  epilepsy, 
and  required  hospital  treatment.  After  the  intoxication 
had  passed  away,  under  appropriate  treatment,  the  sexual 
excitement  soon  disappeared  ;  and  when  the  patient  was 
discharged,  he  was  freed  from  his  fetichistic  idea,  save 
for  its  occasional  occurrence  in  dreams.  The  physical 
examination  showed  normal  genitals  and  no  degenerative 
signs  whatever. 

Such  cases  of  hair-fetichism,  which  lead  to  attacks  on 
female  hair,  seem  to  occur  everywhere,  from  time  to 
time.      In  November,  1890,  according  to  reports  in  Amen- 


FETICIIISM.  235 

can  newspapers,  several  cities  in  the  United  States  were 
troubled  by  such  hair-despoilers. 

(b)  The  Fetich  is  an  Article  of  Female  Attire. 

The  great  importance  of  adornment,  ornament  and 
dress  in  the  normal  vita  sexualis  of  man  is  very  generally 
recognised.  Culture  and  fashion  have,  to  a  certain  extent, 
endowed  woman  with  artificial  sexual  characteristics, 
the  removal  of  which,  when  woman  is  seen  unattired,  in 
spite  of  the  normal  sexual  effect  of  this  sight,  may  exert 
an  opposite  influence.^  It  should  not  be  overlooked  that 
female  dress  often  shows  a  tendency  to  emphasise  and 
exaggerate  certain  sexual  peculiarities, — secondary  sexual 
characteristics  (bosom,  waist,  hips).  In  most  individuals 
the  sexual  instinct  awakes  long  before  there  is  any  possi- 
bility or  opportunity  of  intimate  intercourse,  and  the  early 
desires  of  youth  are  concerned  with  the  ordinary  appear- 
ance of  the  attired  female  form.  Thus  it  happens  that  not 
infrequently,  at  tlie  beginning  of  the  vita  sexualis,  ideas  of 
the  persons  exerting  sexual  charms  and  ideas  of  their 
attire  become  associated.  This  association  may  be  lasting 
— the  attired  woman  may  be  always  preferred — if  the 
individuals  dominated  by  this  perversion  do  not  in  other 
respects  attain  to  a  normal  vita  sexualis,  and  find  gratifi- 
cation in  natural  charms. 

In  psychopathic  individuals,  sexually  hypernesthetic,  as 
a  result  of  this,  it  actually  happens  that  the  dressed  woman 
is  always  preferred  to  the  nude  female  form.  It  may  be 
recalled  that  in  case  46  the  woman  was  not  to  take  off  her 
chemise,  and  that  in  case  48,  equus  eroticus,  the  woman 
was  preferred  dressed.  Further  on  a  similar  case  will  be 
referred  to. 

Dr.  Moll  {op.  cit.  second  edition)  mentions  a  patient  who 
could  not  perform  coitus  with  jiit'dla  nuda  ;  the  woman  had 

'  Cf.  Goethe's  remarks  about  his  adventure  in  Geneva  {"  Briefc  aus 
der  Schweiz,"  1  Abthcil.,  Schluss). 


236  PSTCHOPATHIA    SESUALIS. 

to  have  on  a  chemise,  at  least.  The  same  author  {op.  cit., 
p.  166)  mentions  a  man  affected  with  contrary  sexuahty, 
who  is  subject  to  the  same  dress-fetichism. 

The  reason  for  this  phenomenon  is  apparently  to  be 
found  in  the  mental  onanism  of  such  individuals.  In 
seeing  innumerable  clothed  forms,  they  have  cultivated 
desires  before  seeing  nudity.^ 

A  more  marked  form  of  dress-fetichism  is  that  in  which, 
instead  of  the  dressed  woman  in  general,  a  certain  kind  of 
,attire  in  particular  becomes  a  fetich.  One  can  understand 
how,  with  an  intense  and  early  sexual  impression,  com- 
bined with  the  idea  of  a  particular  garment  on  the  woman, 
in  hyperaesthetic  individuals,  a  very  intense  interest  in  this 
garment  might  be  developed. 

Hammond  {op.  cit.,]).  46)  reports  the  following  case,  taken 
from  Boubaud  ("  Traite  de  I'impuissance,"  Paris,  1876) : — 

Case  84.  X.,  son  of  a  general.  He  was  raised  in  the 
country.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  initiated  into  the 
joys  of  love  by  a  young  lady.  This  lady  was  a  blonde,  and 
wore  her  hair  in  ringlets  ;  and,  in  order  to  avoid  detection 
in  sexual  intercourse  with  her  young  lover,  she  always 
wore  her  usual  clothing,— gaiters,  a  corset,  and  a  silk  dress 
on  such  occasions. 

When  his  studies  were  completed,  and  he  was  sent  to 
a  garrison  where  he  could  enjoy  freedom,  he  found  that  his 
sexual  desire  could  be  excited  only  under  certain  condi- 
tions. A  brunette  could  not  excite  him  in  the  least,  and 
a  woman  in  night-clothes  would  stifle  every  bit  of  love  in 
him.  In  order  to  awaken  his  desire,  a  woman  had  to  be 
a  blonde,  and  wear  gaiters,  a  corset  and  a  silk  dress, — in 
short,  she  had  to  be  dressed  like  the  lady  who  had  first 
awakened  his  sexual  desire.     He  was  always  compelled 

^  The  fact  that  the  partly  veiled  form  is  often  more  charming  than 
when  it  is  perfectly  nude,  is,  as  far  as  object  goes,  similar,  but  quite  dif- 
ferent psychically.  This  depends  upon  the  effect  of  contrast  and  expecta- 
tion, which  are  common  phenomena,  and  in  no  sense  pathological. 


FETICHISM.  237 

to  give  up  thoughts  of  matriiiiony,  because  he  knew  he 
would  be  unable  to  fulfil  his  marital  duty  with  a  woman 
in  night-clothes. 

Hammond  (p.  42)  reports  another  case  where  coitus 
maritalis  could  be  performed  only  by  the  help  of  a  certain 
costume ;  and  Dr.  Moll  mentions  several  similar  cases  in 
individuals  of  hetero-  and  homo-sexuahty.  The  cause 
may  often  be  shown  to  be  an  early  association,  and  such 
may  always  be  assumed.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  one 
can  explain  why  a  certain  costume  cannot  be  resisted  by 
such  individuals,  no  matter  what  person  wears  the  fetich. 
Thus  one  can  understand  why,  as  Coffignon  {op.  cit.)  relates, 
men  at  brothels  demand  that  the  women  with  whom  they 
are  concerned  put  on  certain  costumes,  such  as  that  of  a 
ballet-dancer,  or  a  nun,  etc.  ;  and  why  these  houses  are 
furnished  with  a  complete  wardrobe  for  such  purposes. 

Binet  {op.  cit.)  relates  the  case  of  a  judge  who  was 
exclusively  m  love  with  Italian  girls  who  came  to  Paris 
as  artists'  models,  and  their  peculiar  costume.  The  cause 
was  here  demonstrably  an  impression  made  at  the  time  of 
the  awakening  of  the  sexual  instinct. 

There  is  but  a  step  from  such  cases  to  the  complete 
absorption  of  the  whole  vita  sexualis  by  the  fetich,  the 
possession  and  manipulation  of  which  may  suf&ce  to  pro- 
voke orgasm  and  even  ejaculation  where  irritable  weak- 
ness of  the  centrum  ejaculation  prevails. 

Case  85.  P.,  thirty-three  years  of  age,  business  man, 
son  of  a  mother  who  suffered  from  melancholia  and 
committed  suicide.  He  was  tainted  with  several  signs  of 
anatomical  degeneration,  was  looked  upon  by  his  neigh- 
bours as  a  "  type,"  and  had  the  nickname  I'amouretix  des 
nourrices  et  des  bonnes  d'enfants. 

He  became  a  nuisance  to  these  girls  by  his  obtrusive 
behaviour,  picked  a  quarrel  with  one  of  them  who  wore 
his  fetich,  and  was  arrested. 


238  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

He  claimed  to  have  always  been  vehemently  excited  at 
the  sight  of  wet  nurses  and  children's  nurses,  but  not  be- 
cause they  were  of  the  female  sex,  but  because  tliey  wore 
a  certain  costume.  Again,  it  was  not  certain  portions, 
but  the  costume  as  a  whole  which  attracted  him.  To  be 
in  the  company  of  such  persons  was  his  greatest  happi- 
ness. When  he  returned  home  from  such  interviews  it 
was  sufficient  for  him  to  recall  the  impressions  just 
received,  in  order  to  produce  orgasmus  venereus. 

An  analogous  case  is  related  by  Motet.  It  refers  to  a 
young  man,  who  became  sexually  excited  only  at  the  sight 
of  a  woman  attired  in  bridal  costume.  The  individuality 
of  the  woman  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him.  In 
order  to  gratify  his  fetichistic  cravings,  he  spent  a  great 
deal  of  his  time  at  the  door  of  a  restaurant  where  many 
weddings  were  celebrated  {Gamier,  "Les  Fetichistes, 
p.  59). 

A  third  form  of  dress-fetichism,  having  a  much  highei 
degree  of  pathological  significance,  is  by  far  the  most  fre- 
quent. In  this  form  it  is  no  longer  the  woman  herself, 
dressed,  or  even  dressed  in  a  particular  fashion,  that 
constitutes  the  principal  sexual  stimulus,  but  the  sexual 
interest  is  so  concentrated  on  some  particular  article 
of  female  attire  that  the  lustful  idea  of  this  object  is 
entirely  separated  from  the  idea  of  woman,  and  thus 
obtains  an  independent  value.  This  is  the  real  domain 
of  dress-fetichism,  where  an  inanimate  object — an  isolated 
article  of  wearing-apparel  — is  alone  used  for  the  excitation 
and  satisfaction  of  the  sexual  instinct.  This  third  form 
of  dress-fetichism  is  also  the  one  which  forensicaily  is 
the  most  important. 

In  a  large  number  of  these  cases  the  fetiches  are  articles 
of  female  underwear,  which,  owing  to  their  private  use, 
are  suited  to  occasion  such  associations. 

Case  86.     K.,  aged  forty-five,  shoemaker,  is  reported 


FETICHISM.  239 

to  be  without  hereditary  taint.  He  is  peculiar,  and  has 
small  mental  endowment.  He  is  of  masculine  habits,  and 
without  signs  of  degeneration.  Previously  blameless  in 
conduct,  on  the  evening  of  5th  July,  1876,  he  was  detected 
removing  stolen  female  under-garments  from  a  place  of 
concealment.  There  were  found  with  him  about  300 
articles  of  the  female  toilet,  among  them,  besides 
chemises  and  drawers,  night-caps,  garters,  and  a  female 
doll.  When  arrested  he  was  wearing  a  chemise. 
Since  his  thirteenth  year  he  had  been  a  slave  to  an 
impulse  to  steal  women's  linen ;  but,  after  his  first 
punishment  for  it,  he  became  very  careful,  and  stole 
with  refinement  and  success.  When  this  longing 
came  over  him,  he  would  grow  anxious,  and  his  head 
would  become  heavy.  Then  he  could  not  resist  the  im- 
pulse, cost  what  it  might.  It  was  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  him  from  whom  he  took  the  articles.  At  night,  on 
going  to  bed,  he  would  put  on  the  stolen  clothing  and 
create  beautiful  women  in  imagination,  thus  inducing 
pleasurable  feeling  and  ejaculation.  This  was  apparently 
the  motive  of  his  thefts  ;  at  least,  he  had  never  disposed 
of  any  of  the  articles,  but  had  hidden  them  here  and 
there. 

He  declared  that,  earlier  in  his  life,  he  had  indulged  in 
normal  sexual  intercourse  with  women.  He  denied  onan- 
ism, pederasty,  and  other  sexual  acts.  He  said  he  was 
engaged  at  twenty-five,  but  the  engagement  was  broken 
through  no  fault  of  his.  He  was  incapable  of  grasping  the 
abnormality  of  his  condition  and  the  wrong  of  his  acts. 
(Passow,  *'  Vierteljahrsschrift  f.  ger.  Medic,"  N.  F.  xxviii.,  p. 
61 ;  Krauss,  "  Psychologie  des  Verbrechens,"  1884,  p.  190). 

Case  87.  J.,  a  young  butcher.  When  arrested  he 
wore  underneath  his  overcoat  a  bodice,  a  corset,  a  vest,  a 
jacket,  a  collar,  a  jersey,  and  a  chemise,  also  fine  stockings 
and  garters. 

Since  he  was  eleven  he  was  troubled  by  the  desire  to 


240  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

wear  a  chemise  of  his  elder  sister.  Whenever  he  could  do 
it  unnoticed  he  indulged  in  this  pleasure,  and  since  the  age 
of  puberty  the  wearing  of  such  a  garment  would  bring  on 
ejaculation.  When  he  became  independent  he  bought 
chemises  and  other  articles  of  female  toilet.  In  his  room 
a  complete  outfit  of  female  apparel  was  found.  To  put  on 
such  garments  was  the  great  aim  of  his  sexual  instinct. 
This  fetichism  had  financially  ruined  him.  At  the  hos- 
pital he  begged  the  attending  physician  to  permit  him 
to  wear  female  attire.  Inverted  sexuality  did  not  exist 
(Gamier,  "  Les  Fetich-istes,"  p.  62). 

Case  88.  Z.,  thirty-six  years  of  age,  scholar  ;  has 
never  heretofore  felt  interested  in  woman,  only  in  her 
attire,  and  never  had  sexual  intercourse.  Besides  the 
elegance  and  smartness  of  the  female  toilet  in  general, 
certain  underwear,  chemises  made  of  cambric  and  trimmed 
with  lace,  silk  corsets,  embroidered  silk  skirts  and  silk 
stockings  form  his  particular  fetich.  It  caused  him 
voluptuous  feelings  to  inspect  and  finger  such  female 
garments  at  the  draper's.  His  ideal  was  the  female  form 
in  bathing  costume,  with  silk  stockings  and  corset,  and 
clad  in  a  morning-dress  with  a  long  train. 

He  studied  the  costumes  of  the  courenses  des  rues,  but 
found  them  tasteless.  He  found  more  pleasure  in  gazing 
at  the  shop  windows,  but  felt  annoyed  because  the  exhibits 
therein  were  not  changed  often  enough.  He  found  partial 
satisfaction  in  holding  and  studying  fashion  magazines, 
and  in  buying  now  and  then  single  garments  of  excep- 
tional beauty.  It  would  be  the  height  of  pleasure  for  him 
if  he  had  access  to  the  toilet  arts  of  the  boudoir  or  the 
fitting  rooms  of  the  dressmaker,  or  if  he  could  be  the 
femme  de  chambre  of  some  wealthy  lady  of  the  world,  and 
could  arrange  the  toilet  for  her.  There  are  no  traces  of 
masochism  or  homosexual  inclination  to  be  found  on  this 
pecuhar  fetichist.  He  is  of  thoroughly  manly  presence 
{Gamier,  "  La  folic  a  Paris,"  1890). 


fetichiSm.  241 

Hammond  {op.  cit.)  reports  a  case  of  passionate  interest 
in  single  articles  of  female  wearing-apparel.  Here,  also, 
the  patient's  pleasure  consisted  in  wearing  a  corset  and 
other  female  garments  (without  any  traces  of  contrary 
sexual  instinct).  The  pain  of  tight  lacing,  experienced 
by  himself  or  induced  in  women,  is  a  delight  to  him, — 
sadistic-masochistic  element. 

A  case  probably  belonging  here  is  one  reported  hy  Diez 
("  Der  Selbstmord,"  1838,  p.  24),  where  a  young  man 
could  not  resist  the  impulse  to  tear  female  linen.  While 
tearing  it,  he  always  had  ejaculation. 

A  combination  of  fetichism  with  an  impulse  to  destroy 
the  fetich  (in  a  certain  sense,  sadism  with  inanimate 
objects)  seems  to  occur  quite  frequently  (cf.  case  99). 

An  article  of  dress,  which,  though  it  has  not  really  a 
private  character,  by  its  material  and  colour,  as  well  as  by 
the  place  where  it  is  worn,  might  be  suggestive  of  under- 
garments, and  hence  has  sexual  relations,  is  the  apron 
(cf.  also  the  metonymic  use  of  the  word  "  apron  "  for 
"  petticoat  "  in  the  saying,  "  To  chase  every  apron,"  etc.). 
This  explains  the  following  case  : — 

Case  89.  C,  aged  thirty-seven;  of  a  badly  tainted 
family  ;  of  small  mental  endowment ;  plagiocephalic.  At 
fifteen  his  attention  was  attracted  by  an  apron  hung  out 
to  dry.  He  put  it  on  and  masturbated  behind  the  fence. 
From  that  time  he  could  not  see  aprons  without  repeating 
the  act.  If  he  met  any  one — no  matter  whether  man  or 
woman — with  an  apron  on,  he  was  compelled  to  run  after 
the  person.  In  order  to  free  him  from  this  constant  steal- 
ing of  aprons,  he  was  sent  as  a  marine  in  his  sixteenth 
year.  In  this  calling  he  saw  no  aprons,  and  had  continual 
rest.  When,  at  nineteen,  he  returned  home,  he  was  again 
compelled  to  steal  aprons,  and,  as  a  result,  got  into 
serious  complications,  and  was  several  times  locked  up. 
He  sought  to  free  himself  of  his  weakness  by  a  sojourn  of 
several  years  with  the  Trappists.     When  he  left  them,  he 

16 


242  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

was  just  as  bad  as  before.  As  a  result  of  a  new  theft,  he 
underwent  a  medico-legal  examination,  and  was  committed 
to  an  asylum.  He  never  stole  anything  but  aprons.  It 
was  a  pleasure  to  him  to  revel  in  the  memory  of  the  first 
apron  he  ever  stole.  His  dreams  were  filled  with  aprons. 
He  occasionally  used  the  memory  of  his  thefts  to  make 
coitus  possible,  or  for  masturbation  {Charcot  -  Magnan, 
"Arch,  de  neurolog.,"  1882,  No.  12). 

In  a  case  reported  by  Lombroso  ("Amori  anomali  pre- 
coci  nei  pazzi,"  "Arch,  di  psich.,"  1883,  p.  17),  analogous  to 
those  of  this  series,  a  boy  of  very  bad  heredity,  at  the  age 
of  four,  had  erections  and  great  sexual  excitement  at  the 
sight  of  white  garments,  particularly  underclothing.  He 
was  lustfully  excited  by  handling  and  crumpling  them. 
At  the  age  of  ten  he  began  to  masturbate  at  the  sight  of 
white,  starched  linen.  He  seems  to  have  been  affected 
with  moral  insanity,  and  was  executed  for  murder. 

The  following  case  of  petticoat-fetichism  is  coupled  with 
peculiar  circumstances  : — 

Case  90.  Z.,  aged  thirty-five;  civil  servant;  the 
only  child  of  a  nervous  mother  and  a  healthy  father. 
From  childhood  he  was  "  nervous,"  and  at  the  consul- 
tation his  neuropathic  eyes,  delicate,  slender  body,  fine 
features,  very  thin  voice,  and  sparse  growth  of  beard 
attracted  attention.  The  patient  presents  nothing  ab- 
normal except  symptoms  of  slight  neurasthenia.  Genitals 
and  sexual  functions  normal.  Patient  states  that  he  has 
only  masturbated  four  or  five  times  when  he  was  very 
young.  As  early  as  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  the  patient 
was  powerfully  excited  sexually  by  the  sight  of  wet  female 
dresses,  while  the  same  dresses,  when  dry,  had  no  effect 
upon  him.  His  greatest  delight  was  to  look  at  women 
with  wet  garments  in  the  rain.  If  he  met  a  woman  having 
a  pleasing  face  under  such  circumstances,  he  experienced 
an  intense  feehng  of  lustful  pleasure,  had  erection  and  felt 


FETICHISM.  243 

impelled  to  perform  coitus.  He  states  that  he  has  never 
had  any  desire  to  steal  wet  female  dresses  or  to  throw 
water  on  women.  He  can  gi\e  no  explanation  of  the 
origin  of  his  peculiarity. 

It  is  possible  that,  in  this  case,  the  sexual  instinct  was 
first  awakened  by  the  sight  of  a  woman  as  she  exposed 
her  charms  by  raising  her  skirts  in  wet  weather.  The 
obscure  instinct,  not  yet  conscious  of  its  object,  then 
became  directed  to  the  wet  garments,  as  in  other 
cases. 

Lovers  of  female  handkerchiefs  are  frequent,  and,  there- 
fore, important  forensically.  As  to  the  frequency  of 
handkerchief- fetichism,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the 
handkerchief  is  the  one  article  of  feminine  attire  which, 
outside  of  intimate  association,  is  most  frequently  dis- 
played, and  which,  with  its  warmth  from  the  person  and 
specific  odours,  may  by  accident  fall  into  the  hands  of 
others.  The  frequency  of  early  association  of  lustful 
feelings  with  the  idea  of  a  handkerchief,  which  may 
always  be  presumed  to  have  occurred  in  such  cases  of 
fetichism,  probably  is  due  to  this. 

Case  91 .  A  baker's  assistant,  aged  thirty-two,  single, 
previously  of  good  repute,  was  discovered  stealing  a  hand- 
kerchief from  a  lady.  In  sincere  remorse,  he  confessed 
that  he  had  stolen  from  eighty  to  ninety  such  handker- 
chiefs. He  had  cared  only  for  handkerchiefs,  and,  indeed, 
only  for  those  belonging  to  young  women  attractive  to  him. 
In  his  outward  appearance  the  culprit  presents  nothing 
peculiar.  He  dresses  himself  with  much  taste.  liis  con- 
duct is  peculiar,  anxious,  depressed  and  unmanly,  and  he 
often  lapses  into  whining  and  tears.  Lack  of  self-reliance, 
weakness  of  comprehension,  and  slowness  of  perception 
and  reflection  are  noticeable.  One  of  his  sisters  is  epilep- 
tic. He  lives  in  good  circumstances  ;  never  had  a  severe 
illness  ;  is  well  developed.    In  relating  his  history,  he  shows 


244  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

weakness  of  memory  and  lack  of  clearness  ;  calculation  is 
hard  for  him,  though  when  young  he  learned  and  compre- 
hended easily.    His  anxious,  uncertain  state  of  mind  gives 
rise  to  a  suspicion  of  onanism.    The  culprit  confessed  that 
he  had  been  given  to  this  practice  excessively  since  his 
nineteenth  year.     For  some  years,  as  a  result  of  his  vice, 
he  had  suffered  with  depression,  lassitude,  trembhng  of  the 
hmbs,  pain  in  the  back,  and  disinchnation  for  work.    Fre- 
quently a  depressed,  anxious  state  of  mind  came  over  him, 
in  which  he  avoided  people.     He  had  exaggerated,  fantas- 
tic notions  about  the  results  of  sexual  intercourse  with 
women,  and  could  not  bring  himself  to  indulge  in  it.     Of 
late,  however,  he  had  thought  of  marriage.     With  great 
remorse  and  in  a  weak-minded  way,  X.  now  confessed 
that  six  months  ago,  while  in  a  crowd,  he  became  violently 
excited  sexually  at  the  sight  of  a  pretty  young  girl,  and 
was   compelled  to  crowd  up    against   her.      He  felt  an 
impulse  to  compensate  himself  for  the  want  of  a  more 
complete  satisfaction  of  his  sexual  excitement,  by  stealing 
her  handkerchief.     Thereafter,  as  soon  as  he  came  near 
attractive  females,  with  violent  sexual  excitement,  pal- 
pitation of  the  heart,   erection  and   impetus   coeundi,  the 
impulse  would  seize  him  to  crowd  up  against  them  and 
faute  de  mieux,  steal  their  handkerchiefs.     Althoagh  the 
consciousness  of  his  criminal   act  never  left  him  for  a 
moment,  he  was  unable  to  resist  the  impulse.    During  the 
act  he  was  uneasy,  which  was  in  part  due  to  his  inordinate 
sexual  impulse,  and  partly  to  the  fear  of  detection.     The 
medico-legal  opinion  rightly  gave  weight  to  the  congenital 
mental    enfeeblement    and    the    pernicious    influence    of 
masturbation,  and  referred  the  abnormal  impulses  to  a 
perverse  sexual  impulse,  cahing  attention  to  the  presence 
of   an    interesting    and    well-known    physiological    con- 
nection between  the  olfactory  and  sexual  senses.      The 
inability  to  resist  the  pathological  impulse  was  recognised. 
X.   was  not  punished   {Zijype,    "Wiener  Med.   Wochen- 
schrift,"  1879,  No.  23). 


FETICIIISM.  245 

I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Fritsch,  of 
Vienna,  for  further  facts  concerning  this  handerchief- 
fetichist,  who  was  again  arrested  in  August,  1890,  in  the 
act  of  taking  a  handkerchief  from  a  lady's  pocket  : — 

On  searching  his  house,  446  ladies'  handkerchiefs 
were  found.  He  stated  that  he  had  already  burned  two 
bundles  of  them.  In  the  course  of  the  examination,  it 
was  further  shown  that  X.  had  been  punished  with  im- 
prisonment for  fourteen  days  in  1883  for  stealing  twenty- 
seven  handkerchiefs,  and  again  with  imprisonment  for 
three  weeks  in  1886.  for  a  similar  crime.  Concerning  his 
relatives,  nothing  more  could  be  learned  than  that  his 
father  was  subject  to  congestions  and  that  a  brother's 
daughter  was  an  imbecile  and  constitutionally  neuro- 
pathic. X.  had  married  in  1879,  and  embarked  in  an 
independent  business,  and  in  1881  he  made  an  assign- 
ment. Soon  after  that  his  wife,  who  could  not  live  with 
him,  and  with  whom  he  did  not  perform  his  marital 
duty  (denied  by  X.),  demanded  a  divorce.  Thereafter  he 
lived  as  assistant  baker  to  his  brother.  He  complained 
bitterly  of  an  impulse  for  ladies'  handkerchiefs,  but  when 
opportunity  offered,  unfortunatel}',  he  could  not  resist  it. 
In  the  act  he  experienced  a  feeling  of  delight,  and  felt  as 
if  some  one  were  forcing  him  to  it.  Sometimes  he  could 
restrain  himself,  but  when  the  lady  was  pleasing  to  him 
he  yielded  to  the  first  impulse.  He  would  be  wet  with 
sweat,  partly  from  fear  of  detection,  and  partly  on  account 
of  the  impulse  to  perform  the  act.  He  says  he  has  been 
sexually  excited  by  the  sight  of  handkerchiefs  belonging 
to  women  since  puberty.  He  cannot  recall  the  exact  cir- 
cumstances of  this  fetichistic  association.  The  sexual 
excitement  occasioned  by  the  sight  of  a  lady  with  a 
handkerchief  hanging  out  of  her  pocket  had  constantly 
increased.  This  had  repeatedly  caused  erection,  but  never 
ejaculation.  After  his  twenty-first  year,  he  says,  he  had 
inclination  to  normal  sexual  indulgence,  and  had  coitus 


246  PSYCHOrATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

without  difficulty  without  ideas  of  handkerchiefs.  With 
increasing  fetichism,  the  appropriation  of  handkerchiefs 
had  afforded  him  much  more  satisfaction  than  coitus.  The 
appropriation  of  the  handkerchief  of  a  lady  attractive  to 
him  was  the  same  to  him  as  intercourse  with  her  would 
have  been.     In  the  act  he  had  true  orgasm. 

If  he  could  not  gain  possession  of  the  handkerchief  he 
desired,  he  would  become  painfully  excited,  tremble  and 
sweat  all  over.  He  kept  separate  the  handkerchiefs  of 
ladies  particularly  pleasing  to  him,  and  revelled  in  the  sight 
of  them,  taking  great  pleasure  in  it.  The  odour  of  them 
also  gave  him  great  delight,  though  he  states  that  it  was 
really  the  odour  pecuhar  to  the  linen,  and  not  the  perfume, 
which  excited  him  sensually.  He  had  masturbated  but 
very  seldom. 

X.  complained  of  no  physical  ailments  except  occa- 
sional headache  and  vertigo.  He  greatly  regretted  his 
misfortune,  his  abnormal  impulse,— the  evil  spirit  that 
impelled  him  to  such  criminal  acts.  He  had  but  one 
wish  :  that  some  one  might  help  him.  Objectively  there 
are  mild  neurasthenic  symptoms,  anomalies  of  the  distri- 
bution of  blood,  and  unequal  pupils. 

It  was  proved  that  X.had  committed  his  crimes 
in  obedience  to  an  abnormal,  irresistible  impulse. 
Pardon. 

Such  cases  of  handkerchief-fetichism,  where  an  abnor- 
mal individual  is  driven  to  theft,  are  very  numerous.  They 
also  occur  in  combination  with  inverted  sexuality,  as 
is  proved  by  the  following  case,  which  I  borrow  from  page 
162  of  Dr.  Moll's  frequently  cited  work  : — ^ 

^  On  page  161  (op.  cit.)  Dr.  Moll  writes  concerning  this  impulse  in 

hotero-sexual  individuals  :  "  The  passion  for  handkerchiefs  may  go  so  far 

that  the  man  is  entirely  under  their  control.    A  woman  tells  me  :  '  I  know 

,  a  certain  gentleman,  and  when  I  see  him  at  a  distance  I  only  need  to  draw 

.out  my  handkerchief  so  that  it  peeps  out  of  my  pocket,  and  I  am  certain 

that  he  will  follow  me  as  a  dog  follows  its  master.    Go  where  I  please,  this 

•  gentleman  will  follow  me.     He  may  be  riding  in  a  carriage  or  engaged  in 


FETICHISM.  247 

Case  92.  Handkerchief -fcUchism  in  a  case  of  contrary 
sexual  instinct.  K.,  aged  thirty-eight ;  mechanic  ;  a  power- 
fully built  man.  He  makes  numerous  complaints, — 
weakness  of  the  legs,  pain  in  the  back,  headache,  want 
of  pleasure  in  work,  etc.  The  complaints  give  the 
decided  impression  of  neurasthenia  with  tendency  to 
hypochondria.  Only  after  the  patient  had  been  under 
Dr.  Moll's  treatment  for  several  months  did  he  state  that 
he  was  also  abnormal  sexually. 

K.  had  never  had  any  inclination  whatever  for  women  ; 
but  handsome  men,  on  the  other  hand,  had  a  peculiar 
charm  for  him.  Patient  had  masturbated  frequently  until 
he  came  to  Dr.  Moll.  He  had  never  practised  mutual 
onanism  or  pederasty.  He  did  not  think  that  he  would 
have  found  satisfaction  in  this,  because,  in  spite  of  his 
preference  for  men,  an  article  of  white  linen  was  his  chief 
charm,  though  the  beauty  of  its  owner  played  a  role.  The 
handkerchiefs  of  handsome  men  particularly  excite  him 
sexually.  His  greatest  delight  is  to  masturbate  in  men's 
handkerchiefs.  For  this  reason  he  often  took  his  friends' 
handkerchiefs.  In  order  to  save  himself  from  detection, 
he  always  left  one  of  his  own  handkerchiefs  with  his 
friends  in  place  of  the  one  he  stole.  In  this  way  he  sought 
to  escape  the  suspicion  of  theft,  by  creating  the  appearance 
of  a  mistake.  Other  articles  of  men's  linen  also  excited 
K.  sexually,  but  not  to  the  extent  that  handkerchiefs 
did. 

K.  had  often  performed  coitus  with  women,  having 
erection  and  ejaculation,  but  without  lustful  pleasure. 
There  was  also  nothing  which  could  stimulate  the  patient 
to  the  performance  of  coitus.  Erection  and  ejaculation 
occurred  only  when,  during  the  act,  he  thought  of  a  man's 
handkerchief ;  and  this  was  easier  for  the  patient  when 
he  took  a  friend's  handkerchief  with  him  and  had  it  in  his 
hand  during  coitus.     In  accordance  with  his  sexual  per- 

importaat  business,  and  yet,  when  he  sees  my  handkerchief  ho  drops  every- 
thing in  order  to  follow  me, — i.e.,  my  handkerchief.' " 


248  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

version,  in  his  nightly  pollutions  with  lustful  ideas,  men's 
linen  played  the  principal  role} 

Still  far  more  frequent  than  the  fetichism  of  linen  gar- 
ments is  that  of  loomens  shoes.  These  cases  are,  in  fact, 
almost  innumerable,  and  a  great  many  of  them  have  been 
scientifically  studied  ;  but  I  have  but  a  few  reports  at  third 
hand  of  the  similar  glove-fetichism  ;  not  to  speak  of  case 
101  {vide  infra),  in  which  glove-fetichism  develops  itself 
merely  into  "  stuff-fetichism  ".  (Concerning  the  reason 
for  the  relative  infrequency  of  glove-fetichism,  vide  p.  219.) 
In  shoe-fetichism  the  close  relationship  of  the  object 
to  the  feminine  person,  which  explains  linen-fetichism,  is 
absolutely  wanting.  For  this  reason,  and  because  there  is 
a  large  number  of  well-observed  cases  at  hand,  in  which 
the  feiichistic  enthusiasm  for  the  female  shoe  or  boot 
consciously  and  undoubtedly  arises  from  masochistic  ideas, 
an  origin  of  a  masochistic  nature,  even  when  it  is  con- 
cealed, may  always  be  assumed  in  shoe-fetichism  when, 
in  the  concrete  case,  no  other  manner  of  origin  is  demon- 
strable. For  this  reason  the  majority  of  the  cases  of 
shoe-  or  foot-fetichism  have  been  given  under  "Maso- 
chism ".  There  the  constant  masochistic  character  of 
this  form  of  erotic  fetichism  has  been  sufficiently  de- 
monstrated by  means  of  transitional  conditions.  This 
presumption  of  the  masochistic  character  of  shoe-fetichism 
is  weakened  and  removed  only  where  another  accidental 
cause  for  an  association  between  sexual  excitation  and  the 

1  Another  case  of  temporary,  i.e.,  periodical  handlierchief-fetichism, 
accompanied  by  anxiety  and  severe  sweating,  is  related  by  Dr.  Moll  in  the 
"  Centralblatt  f.  d.  Krankheiten  der  Harn-  und  Sexual-organe,"  v.,  8.  This 
might  be  a  case  of  latent  epilepsy.  (Trauma  capitis  at  the  age  of  ten, 
imbecility,  repeated  fainting  fits,  later  on  partial  amnesia  for  fetichistic 
conditions,  accompanied  by  anxiety  and  sweating,  etc.)  In  these  attacks 
of  morbid  impulse  to  steal  ladies'  handkerchiefs,  which  set  in  after  an 
attack  of  typhus  at  the  age  of  thirty,  the  patient  would  wipe  his  face 
with  the  stolen  article,  which  act  produced  erection,  and  at  times  also 
ejaculation.  A  physician  whom  he  consulted  had  given  him  the  advice 
never  to  wear  linen  shirts  again,  as  his  peculiar  impulse  was  caused  by 
them. 


FETICHISM.  249 

idea  of  women's  shoes — the  occurrence  of  which  is  quite 
improbable  a  priori — is  capable  of  proof.  In  the  two 
following  cases,  however,  there  is  such  a  demonstrable 
connection  : — 

Case  93.      Shoe-fetichism.     Mr.  v.  P.,  of  an  old  and 

honourable  family,  Pole,  aged  thirty-two,  consulted  me, 
in  1890,  on  account  of  "  unnaturalness  "  of  his  vita  sexualis. 
He  gave  the  assurance  that  he  came  of  a  perfectly  healtby 
family.     He  had  been  nervous  from  childhood,  and  had 
suffered  with  chorea  minor  at  the  age  of  eleven.     For  ten 
years  he  had  suffered  with  sleeplessness  and  various  neu- 
rasthenic ailments.    From  his  fifteenth  year  he  had  recog- 
nised the  difference  of  the  sexes  and   been    capable  of 
sexual  excitation.     At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  had  been 
seduced  by  a  French  governess,  but  coitus  was  not  per- 
mitted ;  so  that  intense  mutual  sexual  excitement  (mutual 
masturbation)  was  all  that  was  possible.    In  this  situation 
his  attention   was  attracted  by  her  very  elegant  boots. 
They  made  a  very  deep  impression.     His  intercourse  with 
this  lewd  person  lasted  four  months.    During  this  associa- 
tion her  shoes  became  a  fetich  for  the  unfortunate  boy. 
He  began  to  have  an  interest  in  ladies'  shoes  in  general, 
and  actually  went  about  trying  to  catch  sight  of  ladies 
wearing  pretty  boots.     The  shoe-fetichism  gained  great 
power  over  his  mind.     He  had  the  governess  touch  his 
penis  with  her  shoes,  and  thus  ejaculation  with  great  lust- 
ful feeling  was  immediately  induced.      After  separation 
from  the  governess  he  went  to  puellas,  whom  he  made 
perform  the  same  manipulation.     This  was  usually  suffi- 
cient for  satisfaction.    Only  seldom  did  he  resort  to  coitus 
as  an  auxiliary,  and  inclination  for  it  grew  less  and  less. 
His  vita  sexualis  consisted  of  dream-pollutions,  in  which 
women's  shoes  played  the  exclusive  role;  and  of  gratifica- 
tion with  women's  shoes  appositos  ad  mentulam,  but  this 
had  to   be   done   by  the  puella.      In   the  society  of  the 
opposite  sex  the  only  thing  that  interested  him  was  the 


250  PSYCIIOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

shoe,  and  that  only  wlien  it  was  elegant,  of  the  French 
style,  with  heels,  and  of  a  brilliant  black,  like  the  orignial. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  following  conditions  became 
accessory :  a  prostitute's  shoe  that  is  elegant  and  chic  ; 
starched  petticoats,  and  black  hose,  if  possible.  Nothing 
else  in  woman  interests  him.  He  is  absolutely  indifferent  to 
the  naked  foot.  Women  have  not  the  shghtest  psychic 
charm  for  him.  He  had  never  had  masochistic  desires  in 
the  sense  of  being  trod  upon.  In  the  course  of  years  his 
fetichism  had  gained  such  power  over  him  that  when  he 
saw  a  lady  in  the  street,  of  a  certain  appearance  and  with 
certain  shoes,  he  was  so  intensely  excited  that  he  had 
to  masturbate.  Slight  pressure  on  the  penis  sufficed  to 
induce  ejaculation  in  this  state  of  severe  neurasthenia. 
Shoes  displayed  in  shops,  and,  of  late,  even  advertise- 
ments of  shoes,  sufficed  to  excite  him  intensely.  In 
states  of  intense  libido  he  made  use  of  onanism  if  shoes 
were  not  at  his  immediate  command.  The  patient  quite 
early  recognised  the  pain  and  danger  of  his  condition, 
and,  even  when  he  was  free  from  neurasthenic  ailments, 
he  was  morally  very  much  depressed.  He  sought  help  of 
various  physicians.  Cold-water  cures  and  hypnotism  were 
unsuccessful.  The  most  celebrated  physicians  advised 
him  to  marry,  and  assured  him  that,  as  soon  as  he  once 
really  loved  a  girl,  he  would  be  free  from  his  fetichism. 
The  patient  had  no  confidence  in  his  future,  but  he 
followed  the  advice  of  the  physicians.  He  was  cruelly 
disappointed  in  the  hope  which  the  authority  of  the  phy- 
sicians had  aroused  in  hnu,  though  he  led  to  the  altar  a 
lady  distinguished  by  both  mental  and  physical  charms. 
The  wedding-night  was  terrible ;  he  felt  like  a  criminal, 
and  did  not  approach  his  wife.  The  next  day  he  saw  a 
prostitute  with  the  required  chic.  He  was  weak  enough 
to  have  intercourse  with  her  in  his  way.  Then  he  bought 
a  pair  of  elegant  ladies'  boots  and  hid  them  in  bed,  and, 
by  touching  them,  while  in  marital  embrace,  after  a  few 
days,  he  was  able  to  perform  his  marital  duty.    He  ejacu- 


FETICHISM.  251 

lated  tardily,  for  he  had  to  force  himself  to  coitus;  and 
after  a  few  weeks  this  artifice  failed,  because  his  imagina- 
tion failed.  He  felt  unspeakably  miserable,  and  would 
have  preferred  to  make  an  end  of  himself.  He  could  no 
longer  satisfy  his  wife,  who  was  sensual,  and  much  excited 
by  their  previous  intercourse ;  and  he  saw  her  suffering 
severely,  both  mentally  and  morally.  He  could  not,  and 
would  not,  disclose  his  secret.  He  experienced  disgust  in 
marital  intercourse ;  he  felt  afraid  of  his  wife,  and  feared 
the  coming  of  night  and  being  alone  with  her.  He  could 
no  longer  induce  erection. 

He  again  made  attempts  with  prostitutes,  and  satisfied 
himself  by  touching  their  shoes.  Then  the  pnclla  had  to 
touch  his  penis,  when  he  would  have  ejaculation  ;  but, 
if  this  did  not  take  place,  he  would  attempt  coitus  with 
the  lewd  woman  ;  without  success,  however,  for  ejacula- 
tion would  occur  immediately.  In  absolute  despair,  the 
patient  comes  for  consultation.  He  deeply  regrets  that, 
against  his  inner  conviction,  he  had  followed  the  un- 
fortunate advice  of  the  physicians,  and  made  a  virtuous 
wife  unhappy,  having  deeply  injured  her,  both  mentally 
and  morally.  Could  he  answer  God  for  continuing  such 
a  marriage  ?  Even  if  he  were  to  discover  himself  to  his 
wife,  and  she  were  to  do  everything  for  him,  it  would  not 
lielp  him  ;  for  the  familiar  perfume  of  the  demi-monde  was 
also  necessary. 

Aside  from  his  mental  pain,  this  unfortunate  man 
presented  no  remarkable  symptoms.  Genitals  perfectly 
normal.  Prostate  somewhat  enlarged.  He  complained 
that  he  was  so  under  the  domination  of  his  boot-ideas 
that  he  would  even  blush  when  boots  were  talked  about. 
His  whole  imagination  was  given  up  to  such  ideas.  When 
he  was  on  his  estate,  he  often  suddenly  had  to  go  a 
distance  of  ten  miles  to  the  city,  to  satisfy  his  fetichism 
at  shoe-shops  or  with  pucllis. 

This  pitiable  man  could  not  bring  himself  to  take 
treatment  ;  for  his  faith  in  physicians  had  Ijecn  greatly 


252  PSTCHOPATHTA    SEXUALIS. 

shaken.  An  attempt  to  ascertain  whether  hypnosis  and 
a  removal  of  the  fetichistic  association  by  this  means, 
were  possible,  proved  abortive  on  account  of  the  mental 
excitement  of  the  unfortunate  man,,  who  was  exclusively 
controlled  by  the  thought  that  he  had  made  his  wife  un- 
happy. 

Case  94.  X.,  aged  twenty-four,  from  a  badly  tainted 
family  (mother's  brother  and  grandfather  insane,  one  sister 
epileptic,  another  sister  subject  to  migraine,  parents  of 
excitable  temperament).  During  dentition  he  had  con- 
vulsions. At  the  age  of  seven  he  was  taught  to  mastur- 
bate by  a  servant-girl.  X.  first  experienced  pleasure  in 
these  manipulations  cum  ilia  pttella  for hiito  pede  calceolo  tecto 
penem  tetigit.  Thus,  in  the  predisposed  boy,  an  association 
was  established,  as  a  result  of  which,  from  that  time 
on,  merely  the  sight  of  women's  shoes,  and,  finally,  merely 
the  idea  of  them,  sufficed  to  induce  sexual  excitement  and 
erection.  He  now  masturbated  while  looking  at  women's 
shoes,  or  while  calling  them  up  in  imagination.  The 
shoes  of  the  schoolmistress  excited  him  intensely,  and  in 
general  he  was  affected  by  shoes  that  were  partly  con- 
cealed by  female  garments.  One  day  he  could  not  keep 
from  grasping  the  teacher's  shoes — an  act  that  caused  him 
great  sexual  excitement.  In  spite  of  punishment  he  could 
not  keep  from  performmg  this  act  repeatedly.  Finally, 
it  was  recognised  that  there  must  be  an  abnormal  motive 
in  play,  and  he  was  sent  to  a  male  teacher.  He  then 
revelled  in  the  memory  of  shoe-scenes  with  his  former 
school-mistress,  and  thus  had  erections,  orgasm,  and,  after 
his  fourteenth  year,  ejaculation.  At  the  same  time,  lie 
masturbated  while  thinking  of  a  woman's  shoe.  One  day 
the  thought  came  to  him  to  increase  his  pleasure  by  using 
such  a  shoe  for  masturbation.  Thereafter  he  frequently 
took  shoes  secretly,  and  used  them  for  that  purpose. 

Nothing  else  in  a  woman  could  excite  him  ;  the  thought 
of  coitus  filled  him  with  horror.      Men  did  not  interest 


PETICHISM.  253 

him  in  any  way.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  opened  a 
shop,  and,  among  other  things,  dealt  in  ladies'  shoes. 
He  was  excited  sexually  by  fitting  shoes  for  his  female 
patrons,  or  by  manipulating  shoes  that  they  had  work. 
One  day  while  doing  this  he  had  an  epileptic  attack, 
and,  soon  after,  another  while  practising  onanism  in  his 
customary  way.  Then  he  recognised  for  the  first  time 
the  injury  to  health  caused  by  his  sexual  practices.  He 
tried  to  overcome  his  onanism,  sold  no  more  shoes,  and 
strove  to  free  himself  from  the  abnormal  association  be- 
tween women's  shoes  and  the  sexual  function.  Then  fre- 
quent pollutions,  with  erotic  dreams  about  shoes,  occurred, 
and  the  epileptic  attacks  continued.  Though  devoid  of 
the  slightest  feeling  for  the  female  sex,  he  determined  on 
marriage,  which  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  only  remedy. 

He  married  a  pretty  young  lady.  In  spite  of  lively 
erections  when  he  thought  of  his  wife's  shoes,  in  attempts 
at  cohabitation  he  was  absolutely  impotent,  because  his 
distaste  for  coitus  and  for  close  intercourse  in  general 
was  far  more  powerful  than  the  influence  of  the  shoe-idea, 
which  induced  sexual  excitement.  On  account  of  his  im- 
potence, the  patient  applied  to  Dr.  Hammond,  who  treated 
his  epilepsy  with  bromides,  and  advised  him  to  hang  a 
shoe  up  over  his  bed,  and  look  at  it  fixedly  during  coitus, 
at  the  same  time  imagining  his  wife  to  be  a  shoe.  The 
patient  became  free  from  epileptic  attacks,  and  potent  so 
that  he  could  have  coitus  about  once  a  week.  His  sexual 
excitation  by  women's  shoes  also  grew  less  and  less 
{Hammond,  "  Sexual  Impotence  "). 

These  two  cases  of  shoe-fetichism,^  which  apparently 
depend  upon  subjective  accidental  associations,  as  is  the 

'  other  cases  of  shoe-fetichism  without  distinct  relations  to  masochism 
are  given  by  Alzheimer,  "  A  Congenital  Criminal,"  "  Archiv  f.  Psychiatric 
u.  Nerven  Krankheiten,"  Bd.  28,  p.  350.  This  same  case  was  declared  by 
Rurella,  "  Fetischismus  oder  Simulation,"  ibid.,  Bd.  28,  p.  964,  to  be 
simulation  ;  but  the  reasons  given  are  trivial  and  easily  refuted.  Vide 
also  Moll,  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  libido  sexualis,"  case  32. 


254  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

case  in  fetichism  generally,  do  not  offer  anything  startling 
with  reference  to  their  objective  cause,  because,  in  the 
former  case,  it  is  only  a  matter  of  partial  impression  of 
the  general  appearance  of  woman,  and  in  the  latter,  a 
partial  impression  of  the  exciting  manipulation. 

But  there  are  cases — up  till  now  only  two  have  been 
closely  observed — in  which  the  determining  association 
has  decidedly  not  been  brought  about  by  any  connection 
of  the  nature  of  the  object  with  the  otherwise  normally 
exciting  fcause. 

Case  95.  L.,  aged  thirty-seven,  clerk,  from  tainted 
family,  had  his  first  erection  at  five  years,  when  he  saw  his 
bed-fellow — an  aged  relative — put  on  his  night-cap.  The 
same  thing  occurred  later,  when  he  saw  an  old  servant  put 
on  her  night-cap.  Later,  simply  the  idea  of  an  old,  uj^ly 
woman's  head,  covered  with  a  night-cap,  was  sufficient  to 
cause  an  erection.  The  sight  of  a  cap  or  of  a  naked 
woman  or  man  only  made  no  impression,  but  the  mere 
touch  of  a  night-cap  induced  erection,  and  sometimes  even 
ejaculation.  L.  was  not  a  masturbator,  and  had  never  been 
sexually  active  until  his  thirty-second  year,  when  he  mar- 
ried a  young  girl  with  whom  he  had  fallen  in  love.  On 
his  marriage-uight  he  remained  cold  until,  from  necessity, 
he  brought  to  his  aid  the  memory-picture  of  an  ugly 
woman's  head  with  a  ni^ht-cap.  Coitus  was  immediately 
successful.  Thereafter  it  was  always  necessary  for  him  to 
use  this  means.  Since  childhood  he  had  been  subject  to 
occasional  attacks  of  depression,  with  tendency  to  suicide, 
and  now  and  then  to  frightful  hallucinations  at  night. 
When  looking  out  of  a  window,  he  became  dizzy  and 
anxious.  He  was  a  perverse,  peculiar,  and  easily  embar- 
rassed man,  of  bad  mental  constitution  {Charcot- Magnan, 
"Arch,  de  neurol.,"  1882,  No.  12). 

In  this  very  peculiar  case,  the  siojultaneous  coin- 
cidence of   the   first    sexual    citation    and    an    absolutely 


FETICHISM.  255 

heterogeneous    impression    seems    to    have    determined 
tiie    association. 

Hammond  {op.  cit.)  also  mentions  a  case  of  accidental 
associative  fetichism  that  is  quite  as  peculiar.  A  married 
man,  aged  thirty,  who,  in  other  respects,  was  healthy, 
physically  and  mentally,  is  said  to  have  suddenly  lost  his 
sexual  power  after  moving  to  another  house,  and  to  have 
regained  it  as  soon  as  the  furniture  of  the  sleeping-room 
had  been  arranged  as  it  was  before. 


(c)  The  Fetich  is  Some  Special  Material. 

There  is  a  third  principal  group  of  fetichists  who  have 
as  a  fetich  neither  a  portion  of  the  female  body  nor  a  part 
of  female  attire,  but  some  particular  material  which  is  so 
used,  not  because  it  is  a  material  for  female  garments,  but 
because  in  itself  it  can  arouse  or  increase  sexual  feelings. 
Such  materials  are  furs,  velvets  and  silks. 

These  cases  differ  from  the  foregoing  instances  of  erotic 
dress-fetichism,  in  this,  that  these  materials,  unlike  female 
linen,  do  not  have  any  close  relation  to  the  female  body  ; 
and,  unlike  shoes  and  gloves,  they  are  not  related  to  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  person  which  have  peculiar  symbolic  sig- 
nificance. Moreover,  this  fetichism  cannot  be  due  to  an 
accidental  association,  like  that  in  the  cases  of  the  night- 
caps and  the  arrangement  of  the  sleeping-room ;  for  these 
cases  form  an  entire  group  having  the  same  object.  It 
must  be  presumed  that  certain  tactile  sensations  (a  kind 
of  tickhng  irritation  which  stands  in  some  distant  relation 
to  lustful  sensations  ?),  in  hypersesthetic  individuals,  fur- 
nish the  occasion  for  the  origin  of  this  fetichism. 

The  following  is  a  personal  observation  of  a  man 
affected  with  this  peculiar  fetichism  : — 

Case  96.  N.  N.,  aged  thirty-seven  ;  of  a  neuropathic 
family  ;  neuropathic  constitution.  He  makes  the  follow- 
ing statement  :   "  From  luy  earliest  youth  I  have  always 


256  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

had  a  deeply  rooted  partiality  for  furs  and  velvets,  in  so  far 
that  these  materials  cause  me  sexual  excitement,  and  the 
sight  and  touch  of  them  give  me  lustful  pleasure.  I  can 
recall  no  event  that  caused  this  peculiarity  (such  as  the 
simultaneous  occurrence  of  the  first  sexual  excitation  and 
an  impression  of  these  materials, — i.e.,  first  excitation  by 
a  woman  dressed  in  them) ;  in  fact,  I  cannot  remember 
when  this  enthusiasm  began.  However,  by  this  I  would 
not  exclude  the  jossibility  of  such  an  event, — of  an  acci- 
dental connection  in  a  first  impression  and  consequent 
association  ;  but  1  think  it  very  improbable  that  such  a 
thing  took  place,  because  I  believe  such  an  occurrence 
would  have  deeply  impressed  me.  All  I  know  is,  that  even 
when  a  small  child  I  had  a  lively  desire  to  see  and  stroke 
furs,  and  thus  had  an  obscure  sexual  pleasure.  With 
the  first  occurrence  of  definite  sexual  ideas, — i.e.,  the 
direction  of  sexual  thoughts  to  woman, — the  peculiar  pre- 
ference for  women  dressed  in  such  materials  was  present. 
Since  then,  up  to  mature  manhood,  it  has  remained  un- 
changed, A  woman  wearing  furs  or  velvet,  or,  even  better, 
both,  excites  me  much  more  quickly  and  intensely  than 
one  devoid  of  these  auxiliaries.  To  be  sure,  these  materials 
are  not  a  conditio  sine  qua  non  of  excitation  ;  the  desire 
occurs  also  without  them  in  response  to  the  usual  stimuli ; 
but  the  sight  and,  particularly,  the  touch  of  these  fetich- 
materials  form  for  me  a  powerful  aid  to  other  normal 
stimuli  and  intensify  erotic  pleasure.  Often  merely  the 
sight  of  only  a  passably  pretty  girl  dressed  in  these 
materials  causes  me  vivid  excitement,  and  overcomes  me 
completely.  Even  the  sight  of  my  fetich-materials  gives 
me  pleasure,  but  the  touch  of  them  much  more.  (To  the 
penetrating  odour  of  furs  I  am  indifferent — rather,  it  is 
unpleasant — and  it  is  endurable  only  by  reason  of  the 
association  with  pleasing  visual  and  tactile  impressions.) 
I  have  an  intense  longing  to  touch  these  materials 
while  on  a  woman's  person,  to  stroke  and  kiss  them, 
and  bury  my  face  in    them.     My  greatest   pleasure   is, 


FETICHISM.  257 

inter  actum,  to  see  and  feel  my  fetich  on  the  woman's 
shoulder. 

"  Fur,  or  velvet  alone,  exerts  on  me  the  effect  described, 
the  former  much  more  intensely  than  the  latter.  The 
combination  of  the  two  has  the  most  intense  effect.  Again, 
female  garments  made  of  velvet  and  fur,  seen  and  touched 
without  the  wearer,  cause  me  sexual  excitement ;  indeed, 
though  to  a  less  extent,  the  same  effect  is  exerted  by  furs 
or  robes  having  no  relation  to  female  attire,  and  also  by 
the  velvet  and  plush  of  furniture  and  drapery.  Merely 
pictures  of  costumes  of  furs  and  velvet  are  objects  of  erotic 
interest  to  me  ;  indeed,  the  very  word  "  fur  "  has  a  magic 
charm,  and  immediately  calls  up  erotic  ideas. 

"  Fur  is  such  an  object  of  sexual  interest  to  me  that  a 
man  wearing  fur  that  is  effective  {v.  infra)  makes  a  very 
unpleasant,  repugnant,  and  disgusting  impression  on  me, 
such  as  would  be  made  on  a  normal  person  by  a  man  in 
the  costume  and  attitude  of  a  ballet-dancer.  Similarly 
repugnant  to  me  is  the  sight  of  an  old  or  ugly  woman  clad 
in  beautiful  furs,  because  contradicting  feelings  are  thus 
aroused. 

"  This  erotic  delight  in  furs  and  velvet  is  something 
entirely  different  from  simple  aesthetic  pleasure.  I  have  a 
very  lively  appreciation  of  beautiful  female  attire,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  a  particular  partiahty  for  point-lace  ;  but 
this  is  purely  of  an  aesthetic  nature.  A  woman  dressed  in 
a  point-lace  toilette  (or  in  other  elegant,  elaborate  attire)  is 
more  beautiful  than  another  ;  but  one  dressed  in  my  fetich- 
material  is  more  charming. 

"  Furs,  however,  exercise  on  me  the  effect  described 
only  when  the  fur  has  very  thick,  fine,  smooth  and  rather 
long  hair,  that  stands  out  like  that  of  the  so-called  bearded 
furs.  I  have  noticed  that  the  effect  depends  upon  this.  I 
am  entirely  indifferent  not  only  to  the  ordinary,  coarse, 
bushy  furs,  but  also  to  those  that  are  commonly  regarded 
as  beautiful  and  precious,  from  which  the  long  hair  has 
been  removed  (seal,  beaver),  or  of  which  the  hair  is  natu- 

17 


268  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

rally  short  (ermine) ;  and  likewise  to  those  of  which  the 
hair  is  overlong  and  lies  down  (monkey,  bear).  The  speci- 
fic effect  is  exerted  only  by  the  standing  long  hair  of  the 
sable,  marten,  skunk,  etc.  Now,  velvet  is  made  of  thick, 
fine,  standing  hairs  (fibres)  ;  and  its  effect  may  be  due  to 
this.  The  effect  seems  to  depend  upon  a  very  definite  im- 
pression of  the  points  of  thick,  fine  hair  upon  the  terminals 
of  the  sensory  nerves. 

"  But  how  this  pecuhar  impression  on  the  tactile  nerves 
is  related  to  sexual  instinct  is  a  perfect  enigma  to  me.  The 
fact  is,  that  this  is  the  case  with  many  men.  I  would  also 
state  expressly  that  beautiful  female  hair  pleases  me,  but 
plays  no  more  important  part  than  the  other  charms  ;  and 
that  while  touching  fur  I  have  no  thought  of  female  hair 
(the  tactile  sensation,  also,  has  not  the  least  resemblance 
to  that  imparted  by  female  hair).  There  is  never  associa- 
tion of  any  other  idea.  Fur,  per  se,  arouses  sensuahty  in 
me, — how,  I  cannot  explain. 

"  The  mere  aesthetic  effect,  the  beauty  of  costly  furs, 
to  which  every  one  is  more  or  less  susceptible,  and  which, 
since  Eaphael's  Fornarina  and  Eeuben's  Helene  Four- 
ment,  has  been  used  as  the  foil  and  frame  of  female  beauty 
by  innumerable  painters  ;  which  also  plays  so  important  a 
role  in  fashion,— the  art  and  science  of  female  dress,— this 
esthetic  effect,  as  has  been  remarked,  explains  nothing 
here.  Beautiful  furs  have  the  same  aesthetic  effect  on 
me  as  on  normal  individuals,  and  affect  me  in  the  same 
way  that  flowers,  ribbons,  precious  stones,  and  other  orna- 
ments affect  every  one.  Such  things,  when  skilfully  used 
enhance  female  beauty,  and  thus,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, may  have  an  indirect  sensual  effect.  They  never 
have  a  direct,  powerful,,  sensual  effect  on  me,  as  do  the 
fetich-materials  mentioned. 

"  Though  in  me,  and,  in  fact,  in  all  '  fetichists,'  the 
sensual  and  aesthetic  effect  must  be  strictly  differentiated, 
nevertheless,  that  does  not  prevent  me  from  demanding  in 
my  fetich  a  whole  series  of  isesthetic  qualities  in  form,  style, 


FETICHISM.  259 

colour,  etc.  I  could  give  a  very  lengthy  description  of  these 
qualities  that  my  taste  demands  ;  but  I  omit  it  as  not 
being  essential  to  the  real  subject  in  hand.  I  would  only 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  erotic  fetichism  is  compH- 
eated  v^ith  purely  aesthetic  tastes. 

"  The  specific  erotic  effect  of  my  fetich-materials  can 
be  explained  no  better  by  the  association  with  the  idea 
of  the  person  of  the  female  wearing  them,  than  by  their 
gesthetic  impression.  For,  in  the  first  place,  as  has  been 
said,  these  materials,  as  such,  affect  me  when  entirely 
isolated  from  the  body ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  articles 
of  clothing  of  a  much  more  private  nature,  and  which 
undoubtedly  call  up  associations,  exert  a  much  weaker 
influence  over  me.  Thus  the  fetich-materials  have  an 
independent  sensual  value  for  me.  Why,  is  an  enigma 
to  me. 

"  Feathers  in  women's  hats,  fans,  etc.,  have  the  same 
erotic  fetichistic  effect  on  me  as  furs  and  velvet  (similar 
tactile  sensation  of  airy,  peculiar  tickling).  Finally,  the 
fetichistic  effect,  with  much  less  intensity,  is  exerted  by 
other  smooth  materials  (satin  and  silk)  ;  but  rough  goods 
(cloth,  flannel)  have  a  repelling  effect. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  will  mention  that  somewhere  I  read 
an  article  by  Carl  Vogt  on  microcephalic  men,  according  to 
which  these  creatures,  at  the  sight  of  furs,  rushed  for 
them  and  stroked  theni  with  every  manifestation  of  de- 
light. I  am  far  from  any  thought,  on  this  ground,  to  see 
in  widespread  fur-fetichism  an  atavistic  retrogression  to 
the  taste  of  our  hairy  ancestors.  Every  cretin,  with  that 
simplicity  belonging  to  his  condition,  touches  anything 
that  pleases  him,  and  the  act  is  not  necessarily  of  a  sexual 
nature  ;  just  as  many  normal  men  like  to  stroke  a  cat  and 
the  like,  or  even  velvet  and  furs,  and  are  not  thus  excited 
sexually." 

In  the  literature  of  this  subject,  there  are  a  few  cases 
belonging  here  ; — 


260  PSYCnOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Case  97.  A  boy,  aged  twelve,  became  powerfully 
excited  sexually,  when,  by  chance,  he  covered  himself 
with  a  fox-skin.  From  that  time  on  there  was  mastur- 
bation with  the  employment  of  furs,  or  by  means  of 
taking  a  furry  dog  to  bed.  Ejaculation  would  result, 
sometimes  followed  by  a  hysterical  attack.  His  nocturnal 
pollutions  were  induced  by  dreaming  that  he  lay  entirely 
covered  up  in  a  soft  skin.  He  was  absolutely  insuscep- 
tible to  stimuli  coming  from  men  or  women.  He  was 
neurasthenic,  suffered  with  delusions  of  being  watched, 
and  thought  that  every  one  noticed  his  sexual  anomaly. 
He  had  tadium  vitcn  on  account  of  this,  and  finally 
became  insane.  He  had  marked  taint  ;  his  genitals  were 
imperfectly  formed,  and  he  presented  other  signs  of 
degeneration  {Tarnowshij,  op.  cit.,  p.  22). 

Case  98.  C.  is  an  especial  lover  of  velvet.  He  is 
attracted  in  a  normal  way  by  beautiful  women,  but  it 
particularly  excites  him  to  have  the  person  with  whom 
he  has  sexual  intercourse  dressed  in  velvet.  In  this,  it 
is  remarkable  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  sight  as  the 
touch  of  the  velvet  that  causes  the  excitation.  C.  told 
me  that  stroking  a  woman's  velvet  jacket  would  excite 
him  sexually  to  an  extent  scarcely  possible  in  any  other 
way  (Dr.  Moll,  op.  cit.,  p.  127). 

A  physician  communicated  to  me  the  following 
case  : — 

In  a  brothel  a  man  was  known  under  the  name  of 
"Velvet".  He  would  dress  a  sympathetic  puella  with 
a  garment  made  of  black  velvet,  and  would  excite  and 
satisfy  his  sexual  desires  simply  by  stroking  his  face  with 
a  corner  of  her  velvety  dress,  not  touching  any  other  part 
of  the  person  at  all. 

Another  authority  assures  me  that  this  weakness  for 


FETICHISM.  261 

furs,  velvets  and  silU  and  feathers,  is  quite  common  among 
masochists  (c/.  cases  41  and  42).^ 

The  following  is  a  very  peculiar  case  of  material- 
fetichism.  It  is  combined  with  the  impulse  to  injure  the 
fetich,  which,  in  this  case,  represents  an  element  of  sadism 
toward  the  woman  wearing  the  fetich,  or  impersonal 
sadism  toward  objects,  which  is  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  fetichists  (cf.  p.  241).  This  impulse  to  cause  injury 
made  this  a  remarkable  criminal  case  : — 

Case    99.     In  July,    1891,   Alfred    Bachmann,  aged 
twenty-five,  locksmith,  was  brought  before  Judge  N.,  in 
the  second  term   of   the   criminal  court,   in  Berlin.     In 
April,   1891,   the  'police   had  bad  numerous   complaints, 
according   to  which    some   evil   hand   had   cut   women's 
dresses  with  a  very  sharp  instrument.      In  the  evening  of 
25th  April,  they  were  successful  in  arresting  the  perpe- 
trator in  the  person  of  the  accused.      A  policeman  noticed 
how  the  accused  pressed,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  against 
a  lady  in  the  company  of  a  gentleman,  while  they  were 
going  through  a  passage.     The  officer  requested  the  lady 
to   examine   her   dress,   while   he   held    the   man    under 
suspicion.     It  was  ascertained  that  the  dress  had  received 
quite  a  long  sht.     The  accused  was  taken  to  the  station, 
where  he  was  examined.     Besides  a  sharp  knife,  which 
he  confessed  he  used  for  cutting  dresses,  two  silk  sashes, 
such  as  ladies  wear  on  their  dresses,  were  found  on  him ; 
he  also  confessed  that  he  had  taken  these  from  dresses 
in  crowds.     Finally,  the  examination  of  his  person  brought 
to  light  a  lady's  silk  neck-scarf.     The  accused  said  he  had 
found  this.      Since  his  statement  in  this  case  could  not  be 
refuted,  complaint  was  therefore  made  to  rest  on  the  result 

1  In  the  novels  of  Sacher-Masoch,  fur  plays  an  imporUnt  r6lc  ;  in  fact, 
it  serves  as  a  title  in  some  of  them.  The  explanation  given  is  that  fur 
(ermin)  is  the  symhol  of  sovereignty,  and  therefore  the  fetich  of  the  men 
described  in  these  novels,  seems  unsatisfactory  and  far-fetched. 


262  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

of  the  search  ;  in  two  instances  in  which  complaint  was 
made  by  the  injured  parties  his  acts  were  designated  as 
injury  to  property,  and  in  two  other  instances  as  theft. 
The  accused,  a  man  who  had  been  often  punished  before, 
with  a  pale,  expressionless  face,  before  the  judge,  gave  a 
strange  explanation  of  his  enigmatical  action.  A  major's 
cook  had  once  thrown  him  downstairs  when  he  was 
begging  of  her,  and  since  that  time  he  had  entertained 
great  hatred  of  the  whole  female  sex.  There  was  a  doubt 
about  his  responsibility,  and  he  was  therefore  examined 
by  a  physician.  The  medical  expert  gave  the  opinion  at 
the  final  trial  that  there  was  no  reason  to  regard  the 
accused  as  insane,  though  he  was  of  low  intelhgence. 
The  culprit  defended  himself  in  a  peculiar  manner.  An 
irresistible  impulse  forced  him  to  approach  women  wear- 
ing silk  dresses.  TJie  touch  of  silk  material  gave  him  a  feeling 
of  delight,  and  this  went  so  far  that,  while  in  prison  for 
examination,  he  had  been  excited  if  a  silk  thread  happened 
to  pass  through  his  fingers  while  ravelhng  rags.  Judge 
Miiller  considered  the  accused  to  be  simply  a  dangerous, 
vicious  man,  who  should  be  made  harmless  for  a  long 
time.  He  advised  imprisonment  for  one  year.  The  court 
sentenced  him  to  six  months'  imprisonment,  with  loss 
of  honour  for  a  year. 

A  classical  case  of  material-fetichism  (silk)  is  the 
following  related  by  Dr.  P.   Gamier. 

Case  100.  On  22nd  September,  1881,  V.  was 
arrested  in  the  streets  of  Paris  whilst  he  interfered  with 
the  silk  dress  of  a  lady  in  a  manner  which  aroused  the 
suspicion  of  his  being  a  pick-pocket.  At  first  he  was  very 
much  confused,  but  finally,  after  many  vain  excuses,  made 
a  clean  confession  of  his  "  mania  ".  He  was  an  assistant 
in  a  bookseller's  shop,  twenty-nine  years  of  age  ;  his  father 
was  a  drunkard  and  a  rehgious  zealot,  his  mother  of  ab- 
normal character.     She  wished  to  make  a  priest  of  him. 


FETICHISM.  203 

Since  his  early  youth  he  felt  an  instinctive  impulse — con- 
genital as  he  behaves — to  touch  silk.  When  at  the  age 
of  twelve  as  a  choir  boy  he  was  allowed  to  wear  a  silk 
sash,  he  could  not  often  enough  finger  it.  He  could  not 
describe  the  pecuhar  sensation  which  he  experienced  in 
doing  so.  Later  on  he  became  acquainted  with  a  ten- 
year-old  girl  for  whom  he  had  a  childish  affection.  When 
on  Sundays  he  met  this  girl  clad  in  a  silk  dress,  he  was 
impelled  to  lovingly  put  his  arms  around  her  and  touch 
her  silk  dress.  Later  on  he  found  exceeding  great  pleasure 
in  gazing  at  the  silk  gowns  exposed  in  a  dressmaker's 
shop  and  to  feel  them. 

When  they  gave  him  remnants  of  silk  material,  he  would 
hasten  to  put  them  next  to  his  body,  which  act  immedi- 
ately produced  erection,  orgasm  and  even  ejaculation. 
These  lustful  desires  made  him  uneasy,  so  that  he  doubted 
his  vocation  to  the  priesthood  and  obtained  his  discharge 
from  the  seminary.  In  consequence  of  habitual  mastur- 
bation he  was  at  that  time  very  neurasthenic.  His  silk- 
fetichism  swayed  him  as  ever.  Only  when  a  woman  wore 
a  silk  gown  could  she  charm  him. 

Even  when  a  child,  ladies  with  silk  gowns  played  a 
prominent  part  in  his  dreams  ;  later  on  the  latter  were 
accompanied  by  pollutions.  On  account  of  his  natural 
shyness  he  did  not  resort  to  coitus  until  later  in  life, 
and  then  he  could  only  succeed  in  it  with  a  woman 
dressed  in  silk.  He  much  preferred  to  mix  with  crowds  in 
the  street  and  there  touch  the  silk  gowns  of  ladies,  which 
always  produced  ejaculation  accompanied  by  powerful 
orgasms  and  intense  lustful  feelings.  What  gratified  him 
more  than  being  with  the  prettiest  woman  was  to  put 
on  a  silk  petticoat  when  going  to  bed. 

The  forensic  medical  opinion  declared  him  to  be  a 
heavily    tainted    subject    who    gave    way    to    abnormal 
desires   under   the   strain    of  morbid    impulses.     Pardon 
(Dr.    Gamier,    "  Annales    d'hygiene    pubhque,"    3"   serie 
xxix.,  5) 


264  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

The  following  case  of  kid-glove-feticMsm  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  show  the  origin  of  fetichistic  associations  as 
well  as  the  enormous  influence  permanently  exercised  by 
such  an  association,  although  itself  based  upon  a  psychico- 
physical  and  morbid  predisposition. 

Case  101.  Mr.  Z.,  an  American,  thirty-three  years 
of  age,  manufacturer,  for  eight  years  enjoying  a  happy 
married  life,  blessed  with  offspring ;  consulted  me  for  a 
peculiar  troublesome  glove-fetichism.  He  despised  him- 
self on  account  of  it,  and  said  it  brought  him  well-nigh 
to  the  verge  of  despair  and  even  insanity. 

He  claims  to  come  of  thoroughly  sound  parents,  but 
since  infancy  has  been  neuropathic  and  very  excitable. 
By  nature  is  very  sensual,  whilst  his  wife  is  very  frigid. 

At  the  age  of  nine,  he  was  seduced  by  schoolmates  to 
practise  masturbation,  which  gratified  him  immensely, 
and  he  yielded  to  it  with  passion. 

One  day  when  sexually  excited  he  found  a  small  bag 
of  chamois  skin.  He  stripped  it  over  his  membrum  and 
experienced  thereby  great  sensual  pleasure.  After  that 
he  used  it  for  onanistic  manipulations,  put  it  around  his 
scrotum  and  carried  it  about  with  him  by  day  and  night. 
This  aroused  in  him  an  unusual  interest  for  leather  in 
general,  but  particularly  for  kid  gloves. 

With  puberty  this  centred  entirely  in  ladies'  kid  gloves, 
which  simply  fascinated  him.  If  he  touched  his  penis 
with  one  such  glove  it  produced  erection  andeven  ejacula- 
tion. 

Men's  gloves  did  not  excite  him  in  the  least,  although 
he  loved  to  wear  them. 

In  consequence,  nothing  about  woman  attracted  him 
but  her  kid  gloves.  These  were  his  fetich.  They  must 
be  long,  with  many  buttons,  and  if  worn  out,  dirty  and 
saturated  with  perspiration  on  the  finger-tips,  they  are 
preferable.  Women  wearing  such,  even  if  ngly  and  old, 
had  a  particular  charm  for  him.     Ladies  with  silk,   or 


FETICHISM.  265 

cotton  gloves  did  not  attract  him.  He  always  looked  at 
her  gloves  first  when  meeting  a  lady.  As  for  the  rest 
he  took  very  little  interest  in  the  female  sex. 

When  he  could  shake  hands  with  a  lady  gloved  with 
kid,  the  contact  with  the  soft,  warm  leather  would  cause 
erection  and  orgasm  in  him. 

Whenever  he  could  get  hold  of  such  a  glove  he  would 
at  once  retire  to  a  lavatory,  wrap  it  around  his  genitals 
and  masturbate. 

Later  on  when  visiting  brothels  he  would  beg  the 
'pudla  to  put  on  long  gloves  provided  by  himself  for  that 
purpose,  which  act  alone  would  excite  him  so  much  that 
ejaculation  ensued  forthwith. 

Z.  become  a  collector  of  ladies'  kid  gloves.  He  would 
hide  away  hundreds  of  pairs  in  various  places.  These 
he  would  count  and  gloat  over  in  his  spare  time,  "  as  a 
miser  would  over  his  gold,"  place  them  over  his  genitals, 
bury  his  face  in  a  pile  of  them,  put  one  on  his  hand 
and  then  masturbate.  This  gave  him  more  intense 
pleasure  than  coitus. 

He  made  covers  for  his  penis  of  them,  or  suspensories, 
wearing  them  for  days.  He  preferred  black,  soft  leather. 
He  would  fasten  ladies'  kid  gloves  around  his  waist  in 
such  a  fashion  that  they  would,  apron-like,  hang  down 
over  his  genitals. 

After  marriage  this  fetichism  grew  worse.  As  a  rule 
he  was  only  virile  when  he  put  a  pair  of  his  wife's  gloves 
during  coitus  by  her  head  so  that  he  could  kiss  them. 

The  acme  of  pleasure  was  when  he  could  persuade  his 
wife  to  put  on  kid  gloves  and  thus  touch  his  genitals 
previous  to  cohabitation. 

Z.  felt  very  unhappy  on  account  of  tliis  fetichism,  and 
made  repeated  but  vain  attempts  to  free  himself  of  the 
curse. 

Whenever  he  came  across  the  word,  or  the  picture 
of  a  glove  in  novels,  fashion-plates,  advertisements,  etc., 
he  was  simply  fascinated.     At  the  theatre  his  eyes  were 


266  PSYCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

riveted  on  the  hands  of  the  actresses.      He  could  scarcely 
tear  himself  away  from  the  show-windows  of  glove-dealers. 

He  often  would  stuff  long  gloves  with  wool  or  some 
such  material  to  make  them  resemble  arms  and  hands. 
Then  he  would  make  tritus  membri  inter  brachia  talia  arti- 
Hcialia,  until  he  had  achieved  his  object. 

It  is  his  habit  to  take  ladies'  kid  gloves  to  bed  with 
him  and  wrap  them  around  his  penis  until  he  can  feel 
it  like  a  large  leathern  priapus  between  his  legs. 

In  the  larger  towns  he  buys  from  the  cleaners  ladies' 
gloves  which  have  not  been  called  for,  but  prefers  those 
most  soiled  and  worn.  Twice  he  admits  to  have  yielded 
to  the  temptation  to  steal  such  gloves,  although  in  every 
other  respect  he  is  absolutely  correct.  When  in  a  crowd 
he  must  touch  ladies'  hands  whenever  possible.  At  his 
office  he  allows  no  opportunity  to  pass  without  shaking 
hands  with  ladies,  in  order  to  feel  for  "  at  least  a  second 
the  soft,  warm  leather  ".  His  wife  must  wear  as  much  as 
possible  kid  gloves  or  such  made  of  chamois,  with  which 
he  provides  her  lavishly. 

At  his  office  he  always  has  ladies'  gloves  lying  on  his 
desk.  Not  an  hour  passes  in  which  he  does  not  touch 
and  stroke  them.  When  especially  excited  (sexually)  he 
puts  such  a  glove  in  his  mouth  and  chews  it. 

Other  articles  of  the  female  toilet,  likewise  other  parts 
of  the  female  body  besides  the  hand,  do  not  attract  him. 
Z.  feels  much  depressed  about  this  anomaly.  He  feels 
ashamed  to  look  into  the  innocent  eyes  of  his  children, 
and  prays  God  to  protect  them  from  this  curse  of  their 
father. 

The  object  of  fetichism  may  also  be  found  in  a  thing 
which  only  by  sheer  accident  stands  in  relation  to  the  body  of 
woman,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  instance 
related  by  Moll.  It  proves,  moreover,  how  by  the  merely 
accidental  association  of  an  apperception  with  a  parallel 
sexual  emotion — based,  of  course,  upon  a  special  psychic 


FETICHISM.  267 

process — the  object  of  such  apperception  may  become  a 
fetich  which  in  its  turn  may  some  day  disappear  again. 

The  theory  of  association  in  connection  with  original 
perverse  manifestations  (based  on  organo-psychical  mo- 
tives) seems  here  quite  acceptable.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  data  relating  to  masochism,  and  sadism. 

Case  102.  B.,  thirty  years  of  age,  apparently  un- 
tainted, refined  and  sensitive  ;  great  lover  of  flowers  ;  likes 
to  kiss  them,  but  without  any  sensual  motive  or  sensual 
excitement ;  rather  of  natura  frigida;  did  not  before  twenty- 
one  practise  onanism,  and  subsequently  only  at  periods. 
When  twenty-one  he  was  introduced  to  a  young  lady  who 
wore  some  large  roses  on  her  bosom.  Ever  since  then 
large  roses  have  dominated  over  his  sexual  feelings.  He 
incessantly  bought  roses ;  kissing  them  would  produce 
erection.  He  took  them  to  bed  with  him  although  he 
never  touched  his  genitals  with  them.  His  pollutions 
henceforth  were  accompanied  by  dreams  of  roses.  He 
would  dream  of  roses  of  fairy-like  beauty  and,  inhaling 
their  fragrance,  have  ejaculation. 

He  became  secretly  engaged  to  his  "lady  of  roses," 
but  the  platonic  relations  grew  colder,  and  when  the 
engagement  was  broken  off  the  rose-fetichism  suddenly 
and  permanently  disappeared.  It  never  returned,  even 
when  he  became  again  engaged  after  a  long  spell  of 
melancholia  {A.  Moll,  "  Centralb.  f.  d.  Krankheiten  der 
Harn-  und  Sexual-organe,"  v.,  8). 

(d)  Beast-fetichism. 

In  close  relation  to  stuft'-fetichism,  certain  cases  must 
be  considered  in  which  beasts  exercise  an  aphrodisical 
influence  over  human  beings.  One  feels  tempted  to  call 
it  Zoophilia  Erotica. 

This  perversion  seems  to  be  rooted  in  a  fetichism  the 
object  of  which  is  the  skin  of  the  beast. 


268  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

The  transmitting  medium  of  this  fetichism  may, 
perhaps,  be  found  in  a  peculiar  idiosyncrasis  of  the 
tactile  nerves  which,  by  touching  furs  or  animal  skins, 
produces  peculiar  and  lustful  emotions  (analogous  to 
hair-,  braid-,  velvet-  and  silk-fetichism).  This  may, 
perhaps,  also  explain  that  peculiar  hobby  for  cats  and 
dogs  at  times  met  with  in  sexually  perverted  persons 
{vide  pp.  255-260,  especially  case  97).  The  following  case, 
coming  under  my  personal  observation,  seems  to  favour 
this  assumption. 

Case  103.  Zoophilia  erotica,  fetichism.  Mr.  N.  N., 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  comes  from  a  neuropathically 
tainted  family,  and  is  himself  congenitally  neuropathic. 
Even  as  a  child  he  often  felt  impelled  to  perform  at 
times  quite  indifferent  actions  for  fear  of  encountering 
some  untoward  event.  He  learned  easily,  never  had  a 
severe  illness,  had  early  a  great  love  for  domestic  animals, 
especially  dogs  and  cats,  because  when  petting  them  he 
experienced  lustful  emotions.  For  years  he  indulged  in 
this  play  with  animals,  which  sensually  stimulated  him, 
although  in  an  innocent  fashion,  as  it  were.  When  he 
arrived  at  the  age  of  puberty  he  recognised  the  immorality 
of  his  acts  and  tried  to  free  himself  from  the  habit.  He 
succeeded  in  this,  but  henceforth  he  was  troubled  in  his 
dreams  by  such  situations  which  produced  pollutions.  He 
then  began  onanism.  At  first  he  practised  it  by  manipula- 
tion accompanied  by  the  idea  that  he  was  petting  and 
stroking  animals.  After  some  time  he  arrived  at  psychical 
onanism,  produced  by  vividly  imagining  such  situations, 
and  accompanied  by  orgasm  and  ejaculation.  This  made 
him  neurasthenic. 

He  claims  that  sodomitic  ideas  never  entered  his  mind, 
that  the  sexus  bestiarum  never  influenced  his  fancies  or 
actions,  in  fact  he  had  given  it  no  thought. 

He  never  had  homosexual  instinct ;  but  heterosexual 
desires  were  not  foreign  to  him,  though  he  had  never 


HOMO-SEXUALITY.  269 

indulged  in  coitus  because  of  want  of  libido  {ex  masturba- 
tione  et  neurasthenia !)  and  from  fear  of  infection.  He  is 
drawn  only  to  women  of  lithe  figure  and  with  a  proud 
gait. 

The  usual  symptoms  of  cerebro-spinal  neurasthenia 
are  present.  Patient  is  of  slight  build  and  anaemic.  He  is 
greatly  concerned  to  know  whether  his  lost  virility  can  be 
restored,  as  this  would  raise  his  waning  self-esteem. 

Suggestions  how  to  avoid  psychic  onanism,  to  remove 
neurasthenia,  to  strengthen  the  sexual  centres,  to  satisfy 
the  vita  sexualis  in  the  normal  way  as  soon  as  this  should 
be  possible  and  successful. 

Ejjicrisis.  No  bestiality,  but  fetichism.  Very  likely  the 
petting  of  domestic  animals  coupled  with  an  abnormally 
premature  vita  sexualis  coincided  with  a  primary  sexual 
emotion — probably  originating  from  tactile  sensations — 
and  thus  established  an  association  between  the  two  facts 
which  by  repetition  became  permanent  ("  Zeitschr.  f. 
Psychiatrie,"  Bd,  50). 


II.  Great  Diminution  or  Complete  Absence  of  Sexual 
Feeling  for  the  Opposite  Sex,  with  Substitution  of 
Sexual  Feeling  and  Instinct  for  the  Same  Sex  (Homo- 
sexuality, or  Antipathic  Sexual  Instinct). 

After  the  attainment  of  complete  sexual  development, 
among  the  most  constant  elements  of  self-consciousness  in 
the  individual  are  the  knowledge  of  representing  a  definite 
sexual  personality  and  the  consciousness  of  desire,  during 
the  period  of  physiological  activity  of  the  reproductive 
organs  (prodaction  of  semen  and  ova),  to  perform  sexual 
acts  corresponding  with  that  sexual  personality, — acts 
which,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  have  a  procreative 
purpose. 

The  sexual  instinct  and  desire,  save  for  indistinct 
feelings  and  impulses,  remain  latent  until  the  period  of 
development  of  the  sexual  organs.     The  child  is  generis 


270  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUADIS. 

neutrius  ;  and  though,  during  this  latent  period, — when 
sexuality  has  not  yet  risen  into  clear  consciousness,  is  but 
virtually  present,  and  unconnected  with  powerful  organic 
sensations, — abnormally  early  excitation  of  the  genitals 
may  occur,  either  spontaneously  or  as  a  result  of  external 
influence,  and  find  satisfaction  in  masturbation  ;  yet, 
notwithstanding  this,  the  psychical  relation  to  persons  of 
the  opposite  sex  is  still  absolutely  wanting,  and  the  sexual 
acts  during  this  period  exhibit  more  or  less  a  reflex  spinal 
character. 

The  existence  of  innocence,  or  of  sexual  neutrality,  is 
the  more  remarkable,  since  very  early  in  education,  employ- 
ment, dress,  etc.,  the  child  undergoes  a  differentiation  from 
children  of  the  opposite  sex.  These  impressions  remain, 
however,  devoid  of  psychical  significance,  becaulse  they 
apparently  are  stripped  of  sexual  meaning  ;  for  the  central 
organ  {cortex)  of  sexual  emotions  and  ideas  is  not  yet 
capable  of  activity,  owing  to  its  undeveloped  condition. 

With  the  inception  of  anatomical  and  functional 
development  of  the  generative  organs,  and  the  differen- 
tiation of  form  belonging  to  each  sex,  which  goes  hand 
in  hand  with  it  (in  the  boy  as  well  as  in  the  girl),  rudi- 
ments of  a  mental  feeling  corresponding  with  the  sex 
are  developed  ;  and  in  this,  of  course,  education  and 
external  influences  in  general  have  a  powerful  effect  upon 
the  individual,  who  now  begins  to  observe. 

If  the  sexual  development  is  normal  and  undisturbed, 
a  definite  character,  corresponding  with  the  sex,  is  devel- 
oped. Certain  well-defined  inclinations  and  reactions  in 
intercourse  with  persons  of  the  opposite  sex  arise  ;  and 
it  is  psychologically  worthy  of  note  with  what  relative 
rapidity  each  individual  psychical  type  corresponding  with 
the  sex  is  evolved. 

While  modesty,  for  instance,  during  childhood,  is 
essentially  but  an  uncomprehended  and  incomprehensible 
exaction  of  education  and  imitation,  expressed  but  im- 
perfectly in  the  innocence  and  naivete   of  the  child;    in 


HOMO- SEXUALITY.  271 

the  youth  and  maiden  it  becomes  an  imperative  require- 
ment of  self-respect ;  and,  if  in  any  way  it  is  offended, 
intense  vaso  -  motor  reaction  (blushing)  and  psychical 
emotions  are  induced. 

If  the  original  constitution  is  favourable  and  normal, 
and  factors  injurious  to  the  psycho-sexua^l  development 
exercise  no  adverse  influence,  then  a  psycho  -  sexual 
personality  is  developed  which  is  so  unchangeable  and 
corresponds  so  completely  and  harmoniously  with  the  sex 
of  the  individual  in  question,  that  subsequent  loss  of  the 
generative  organs  (as  by  castration),  or  the  climacterium 
or  senility,  cannot  essentially  alter  it. 

This,  however,  must  not  be  taken  as  a  declaration  that 
the  castrated  man  or  woman,  the  youth  and  the  aged 
man,  the  maiden  and  the  matron,  the  impotent  and  the 
potent  man,  do  not  differ  essentially  from  each  other  in 
their  psychical  existence. 

An  interesting  and  important  question  for  what  follows 
is,  whether  the  peripheral  influences  of  the  generative 
glands  (testes  and  ovaries),  or  central  cerebral  conditions, 
are  the  determining  factors  in  psycho-sexual  development. 
The  fact  that  congenital  deficiency  of  the  generative 
glands,  or  removal  of  tbem  before  puberty,  have  a  great 
influence  on  physical  and  psycho-sexual  development,  so 
that  the  latter  is  stunted  and  assumes  a  type  more  closely 
resembhng  the  opposite  sex  (eunuchs,  certain  viragoes, 
etc.),  betokens  their  great  importance  in  this  respect. 

That  the  physical  processes  taking  place  in  the  genital 
organs  are  only  co-operative,  and  not  the  exclusive  factors, 
in  the  process  of  development  of  the  psycho-sexual  char- 
acter, is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  a  normal 
anatomical  and  physiological  state  of  these  organs,  a  sexual 
instinct  may  be  developed  which  is  the  exact  opposite  of 
that  characteristic  of  the  sex  to  which  the  individual 
belongs. 

In  this  case,  the  cause  is  to  be  sought  only  in  an  anom- 
aly of  central  conditions,— in  an  abnormal  psycho-sexual 


272  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

constitution.  This  constitution,  as  far  as  its  anatomical 
and  functional  foundation  is  concerned,  is  as  yet  unknown. 
Since,  in  nearly  all  such  cases,  the  individual  tainted  with 
inverted  sexual  instinct  displays  a  neuropathic  predispo- 
sition in  several  directions,  and  the  latter  may  be  brought 
into  relation  with  hereditary  degenerate  conditions,  this 
anomaly  of  psycho-sexual  feeling  may  be  called,  clinically, 
a  functional  sign  of  degeneration.  This  inverted  sexuality 
appears  spontaneously,  without  external  cause,  with  the 
development  of  sexual  life,  as  an  individual  manifestation 
of  an  abnormal  form  of  the  vita  sexualis.  having  the  force 
of  a  congenital  phenomenon  ;  or  it  develops  upon  a  sexuality 
the  beginning  of  which  was  normal,  as  a  result  of  very 
definite  injurious  influences,  and  thus  appears  as  an 
acquired  anomaly.  Upon  what  conditions  this  enigmatical 
phenomenon  of  acquired  homo-sexual  instinct  depends 
remains  still  unexplained,  and  is  a  mere  matter  of 
hypothesis.  Careful  examination  of  the  so-called  acquired 
cases  makes  it  probable  that  the  predisposition  —  also 
present  here — consists  of  a  latent  homo-sexuality,  or,  at 
any  rate,  bi-sexuality,  which,  for  its  manifestation,  requires 
the  influence  of  accidental  exciting  causes  to  rouse  it  from 
its  dormant  state. 

In  so-called  antipathic  sexual  instinct  there  are  degrees 
of  the  phenomenon  which  quite  correspond  with  the 
degrees  of  predisposition  of  the  individuals.  Thus,  in  the 
milder  cases,  there  is  simple  hermaphrodism  ;  in  more 
pronounced  cases,  only  homo-sexual  feeling  and  instinct 
but  limited  to  the  vita  sexualis ;  in  still  more  complete 
cases,  the  whole  psychical  personality,  and  even  the  bodily 
sensations^  are  transformed  so  as  to  correspond  with  the 
sexual  inversion;  and,  in  the  complete  cases,  the  physical 
form  is  correspondingly  altered. 

The  following  division  of  the  various  phenomena  of 
this  psycho-sexual  anomaly  is  made,  therefore,  in  accord- 
ance with  these  clinical  tacts. 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING    IN   BOTH   SEXES.  273 

A.  Homo-sexual  Feeling  as  an  Acquired  Manifestation  in 
Both  Sexes. 

The  determining  factor  here  is  the  demonstration  of  perverse 
feeling  for  the  same  sex  ;  not  the  proof  of  sexual  acts  with  the 
same  sex.  These  two  phenomena  must  not  be  confounded 
with  each  other ;  perversity  must  not  be  taken  ior  perversion. 

Perverse  sexual  acts,  without  being  dependent  upon 
perversion,  often  come  under  observation.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  with  reference  to  sexual  acts  between  persons 
of  the  same  sex,  particularly  in  pederasty.  Here  pares- 
thesia sexualis  is  not  necessarily  at  work  ;  but  hyperses- 
thesia,  with  physical  or  psychical  impossibility  for  natural 
sexual  satisfaction. 

Thus  we  find  homo  -  sexual  intercourse  in  impotent 
masturbators  or  debauchees,  or  faute  de  mieux  in  sensual 
men  and  women  under  imprisonment,  on  ship-board,  in 
garrisons,  bagnios,  boarding-schools,  etc. 

There  is  an  immediate  return  to  normal  sexual  inter- 
course as  soon  as  the  obstacles  to  it  are  removed.  Very 
frequently  the  cause  of  such  temporary  aberration  is 
masturbation  and  its  results  in  youthful  individuals. 

Nothing  is  so  prone  to  contaminate — under  certain 
circumstances,  even  to  exhaust — the  source  of  all  noble 
and  ideal  sentiments,  which  arise  of  themselves  from  a 
normally  developing  sexual  instinct,  as  the  practice  of 
masturbation  in  early  years.  It  despoils  the  unfolding  bud 
of  perfume  and  beauty,  and  leaves  behind  only  the  coarse, 
animal  desire  for  sexual  satisfaction.  If  an  individual, 
thus  depraved,  reaches  the  age  of  maturity,  there  is 
wanting  in  him  that  gesthetic,  ideal,  pure  and  free 
impulse  which  draws  the  opposite  sexes  together.  The 
glow  of  sensual  sensibility  wanes,  and  the  inclination 
toward  the  opposite  sex  is  weakened.  This  defect 
influences  the  morals,  the  character,  fancy,  feeling  and 
instinct  of  the  youthful  masturbator,  male  or  female,  in 
an    unfavourable    manner,   even    causing,    under  certain 

18 


274  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

circumstances,  the  desire  for  the  opposite  sex  to  sink  to 
nil  ;  so  that  masturbation  is  preferred  to  the  natural 
mode  of  satisfaction. 

Sometimes  the  development  of  the  nobler  sexual 
feelings  toward  the  opposite  sex  suffers,  on  account  of 
hypochondriacal  fear  of  infection  in  sexual  intercourse  ;  or 
on  account  of  an  actual  infection  ;  or  as  a  result  of  a  faulty 
education  which  points  out  such  dangers  and  exaggerates 
them.  Again  (especially  m  females),  fear  of  the  result  of 
coitus  (pregnancy),  or  abhorrence  of  men,  by  reason  of 
physical  or  moral  defects,  may  direct  into  perverse  chan- 
nels an  instinct  that  makes  itself  felt  with  abnormal 
intensity.  On  the  other  hand,  premature  and  perverse 
sexual  satisfaction  injures  not  merely  the  mind,  but  also 
the  body  ;  inasmuch  as  it  induces  neuroses  of  the  sexual 
apparatus  (irritable  weakness  of  the  centres  governing 
erection  and  ejaculation;  defective  pleasurable  feehng  in 
coitus,  etc.),  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  maintains  imagin- 
ation and  libido  in  continuous  excitement. 

Almost  every  masturbator  at  last  reaches  a  point  where, 
frightened  on  learning  the  results  of  the  vice,  or  on  ex- 
periencing them  (neurasthenia),  or  led  by  example  or 
seduction  to  the  opposite  sex,  he  wishes  to  free  himself 
of  the  vice  and  re-instate  his  vita  sexualis. 

The  moral  and  mental  conditions  are  here  the  most 
unfavourable  possible.  The  pure  glow  of  sexual  feeling  is 
destroyed  ;  the  fire  of  sexual  instinct  is  wanting,  and  self- 
confidence  is  lost ;  for  every  masturbator  is  more  or  less 
timid  and  cowardly.  If  the  youthful  sinner  at  last  comes 
to  make  an  attempt  at  coitus,  he  is  either  disappointed 
because  enjoyment  is  wanting,  on  account  of  defective 
sensual  feeling,  or  he  is  lacking  in  the  physical  strength 
necessary  to  accomplish  the  act.  The  fiasco  has  a  fatal 
effect,  and  leads  to  absolute  psychical  impotence.  A  bad 
conscience  and  the  memory  of  past  failures  prevent  suc- 
cess in  any  further  attempts.  The  ever  present  libido 
sexualis,  however,   demands  satisfaction,  and  this  moral 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN    BOTH    SEXES.  275 

and  mental  perversion  separates  further  and  further  from 
woman. 

For  various  reasons,  however  (neurasthenic  complaints, 
hypochondriacal  fear  of  the  results,  etc.),  the  individual  is 
also  kept  from  masturbation.  At  times,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, bestiality  is  resorted  to.  Intercourse  with  the 
same  sex  is  then  near  at  hand, — as  the  result  of  seduction 
or  of  the  feelings  of  friendship  which,  on  the  level  of  patho- 
logical sexuality,  easily  associate  themselves  with  sexual 
feelings. 

Passive  and  mutual  onanism  now  become  the  equiv- 
alent of  the  avoided  act.  If  there  is  a  seducer, — which, 
unfortunately  often  happens, — then  the  cultivated  pederast 
is  produced, — i.e.,  a  man  who  performs  quasi  acts  of  onan- 
ism with  persons  of  his  own  sex,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
feels  and  prefers  himself  in  an  active  role  corresponding 
with  his  real  sex  ;  who  is  mentally  indifferent  not  only  to 
persons  of  the  opposite  sex,  but  also  to  those  of  his  own. 

Sexual  aberration  reaches  this  degree  in  the  normally 
constituted,  untainted,  mentally  healthy  individual.  No 
case  has  yet  been  demonstrated  in  which  perversity  has 
been  transformed  into  perversion — i.e.,  into  an  inversion 
of  the  sexual  instinct.^ 

1  Gamier  ("  Anomalies  Sexuelles,"  Paris,  pp.  508,  509)  reports  two  cases 
(cases  222  and  223)  that  are  apparently  opposed  to  this  assumption,  par. 
ticularly  the  first,  in  whicn  despair  about  the  unfaithfulness  of  a  lover  led 
the  individual  to  submit  to  the  seductions  of  men.  But  the  case  itself 
clearly  shows  that  this  individual  never  found  pleasure  in  homo-sexual  acts. 
In  case  223,  the  individual  was  effeminated  ab  origine,  or  was  at  least  a 
psychical  hermaphrodite. 

Those  who  hold  to  the  opinion  that  the  origin  of  homo-sexual  feelings 
and  instinct  is  found  to  be  exclusively  in  defective  education  and  other 
psychological  influences  are  entirely  in  error. 

An  untainted  male  may  be  raised  never  so  much  like  a  female,  and  a 
female  like  a  male,  but  they  will  not  become  homosexual.  The  natural 
disposition  is  the  determining  condition ;  not  education  and  other  accidental 
circumstances,  like  seduction.  There  can  be  no  thought  of  antipathic  sexual 
instinct  save  when  the  person  of  the  same  sex  exerts  a  psycho-sexual  influ- 
ence over  the  individual,  and  thus  brings  about  libido  and  orgasm, — i.e., 
has  a  psychical  attraction.     Those  cases  are  quite  different  in  which,  faute 


276  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

With  tainted  individuals,  the  matter  is  quite  different. 
The  latent  perverse  sexuality  is  developed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  neurasthenia  induced  by  masturbation,  abstinence, 
or  otherv/ise. 

Gradually,  in  contact  with  persons  of  the  same  sex, 
sexual  excitation  by  them  is  induced.  Eelated  ideas  are 
coloured  v/ith  lustful  feelings,  and  awaken  correspondinj^f 
desires.  This  decidedly  degen^erate  reaction  is  the  begin- 
ning of  a  process  of  physical  and  mental  transformation, 
a  description  of  which  is  attempted  in  what  follows, 
and  which  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  psychological 
phenomena  that  have  been  observed.  This  metamor- 
phosis presents  different  stages,  or  degrees. 

I.  Degree  :  Simple  Beversal  of  Sexual  Feeling. 

This  degree  is  attained  when  a  person  exercises  an 
aphrodisiac  effect  over  another  person  of  the  same  sex 
who  reciprocates  the  sexual  feeling.  Character  and  in- 
stinct, however,  still  correspond  with  the  sex  of  the  indi- 
vidual presenting  the  reversal  of  sexual  feeling.  He  feels 
himself  in  the  active  role;  he  recognises  his  impulse 
toward  his  own  sex  as  an  aberration,  and  finally  seeks 
aid. 

With  episodical  improvement  of  the  neurosis,  at  first 

demieux,  with  great  sensuality  and  a  defective  aesthetic  sense,  the  body  of 
a  person  of  the  same  sex  is  used  for  an  onanistic  act  (not  for  coitus  in  a 
psychical  sense). 

In  his  excellent  monograph,  Moll  shows  very  clearly  and  convincingly 
the  importance  of  original  predisposition  in  contrast  with  exciting  causes 
(c/.  op.  cit.,  pp.  212-231).  He  knows  "  many  cases  where  early  sexual 
intercourse  with  men  was  not  capable  of  inducing  perversion  ".  Moll  sig- 
nificantly says,  further  :  "  I  know  of  such  an  epidemic  (of  mutual  onanism) 
in  a  Berlin  school,  where  a  person  who  is  now  an  actor  shamelessly  intro- 
duced mutual  onanism.  Though  I  now  know  the  names  of  very  many 
urnings  in  Berlin,  yet  I  could  not  ascertain,  even  with  anything  like  pro- 
bability, that  among  all  the  pupils  of  that  school  at  that  time  there  was 
one  that  had  become  an  urning  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  quite 
certain  knowledge  that  many  of  those  pupils  are  now  normal  sexually, 
in  feeling  and  intercourse." 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING    IN   BOTH    SEXES.  277 

even  normal  sexual  feelings  may  reappear  and  assert 
themselves.  The  following  case  seems  well  suited  to 
exemplify  this  stage  of  the  psycho-sexual  degeneration  : — 

Case  1 04.  Acquired  Antipathic  Sexual  Instinct.  "  I  am 
an  official,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  come  of  an  untainted 
family.  My  father  died  of  an  acute  disease;  my  mother, 
still  living,  is  very  nervous.  A  sister  has  been  very  intensely 
religious  for  some  years. 

"I  myself  am  tall,  and,  in  speech,  gait  and  manner, 
give  a  perfectly  masculine  impression.  Measles  is  the 
only  disease  I  have  had ;  but  since  my  thirteenth  year  I 
have  suffered  with  so-called  nervous  headaches. 

"My  sexual  life  began  in  my  thirteenth  year,  when 
I  became  acquainted  with  a  boy  somewhat  older  than 
myself,  quocum  alter  altcrius  genitalia  tangendo  delectabar.  I 
had  the  first  ejaculation  in  my  fourteenth  year.  Seduced 
to  onanism  by  two  older  school-mates,  I  practised  it 
partly  with  others  and  partly  alone ;  in  the  latter  case, 
however,  always  with  the  thought  of  persons  of  the  female 
sex.  My  libido  sexualis  was  very  great,  as  it  is  to-day. 
Later,  I  tried  to  win  a  pretty,  stout  servant-girl  who  had 
very  large  mammce ;  id  solum  assecutus  sum,  ut  me  pras- 
sente  superiorem  corporis  sui  partem  enudaret  mihique 
concederet  os  mammasque  osculari,  dum  ipsa  penem 
meum  valde  erectum  in  manum  suam  recepit  eumque 
trivit. 

"  Quamquam  violentissime  coitum  rogarem  hoc  solum 
concessit,  ut  genitalia  ejus  tangerem. 

"After  going  to  the  university,  I  visited  a  brothel  and 
succeeded  without  especial  effort. 

"Then  an  event  occurred  which  brought  about  a 
change  in  me.  One  evening  I  accompanied  a  friend 
home,  and  in  a  mild  state  of  intoxication  I  grasped  him 
ad  genitalia.  He  made  but  slight  opposition.  I  then 
went  up  to  his  room  with  him,  acd  we  practised  mutual 
masturbation.     From  that  time  we  indulged  in  it  quite 


278  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

frequently ;  in  fact,  it  came  to  immissio  penis  in  os,  with 
resultant  ejaculations.  But  it  is  strange  that  I  was  not 
at  all  in  love  with  this  person,  but  passionately  in  love 
with  another  friend,  near  whom  I  never  felt  the  slightest 
sexual  excitement,  and  whom  I  never  connected  with 
sexual  matters,  even  in  thought.  My  visits  to  brothels, 
where  I  was  gladly  received,  became  more  infrequent ;  in 
my  friend  I  found  a  substitute,  and  did  not  desire  sexual 
intercourse  with  women. 

"We  never  practised  pederasty,  and  that  word  was 
not  even  known  between  us.  From  the  beginning  of  this 
relation  with  my  friend,  I  again  masturbated  more  fre- 
quently, and  naturally  the  thought  of  females  receded 
more  and  more  into  the  background,  and  I  thought  more 
and  more  about  young,  handsome,  strong  men  with  the 
largest  possible  genitals.  I  preferred  young  fellows,  from 
sixteen  to  twenty-five  years  old,  without  beards,  but  they 
had  to  be  handsome  and  clean.  Young  labourers  dressed 
in  trousers  of  Manchester  cloth  or  Enghsh  leather,  par- 
ticularly masons,  especially  excited  me. 

"  Persons  in  my  own  position  had  hardly  any  effect  on 
me;  but,  at  the  sight  of  one  of  those  strapping  fellows  of 
the  lower  class,  I  experienced  marked  sexual  excitement. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  touch  of  such  trousers,  the 
opening  of  them  and  the  grasping  of  the  penis,  as  well  as 
kissing  the  fellow,  would  be  the  greatest  dehght.  My 
sensibility  to  female  charms  is  somewhat  dulled ;  yet  in 
sexual  intercourse  with  a  woman,  particularly  when  she 
has  well-developed  mammae,  I  am  always  potent  without 
the  help  of  imagination.  I  have  never  attempted  to  make 
use  of  a  young  labourer,  or  the  like,  for  the  satisfaction  of 
my  evil  desires,  and  never  shall ;  but  I  often  feel  a  longing 
to  do  it.  I  often  impress  on  myself  the  mental  image  of 
such  a  man,  and  then  masturbate  at  home. 

"I  am  absolutely  devoid  of  taste  for  female  work.  I 
rather  like  to  move  in  female  society,  but  dancing  is 
repugnant  to  me.    I  have  a  lively  interest  in  the  fine  arts. 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH    SEXES.  279 

That  my  sexual  sense  is  partly  reversed  is,  I  believe,  in 
part  due  to  greater  convenience,  which  keeps  me  from 
entering  into  a  relation  with  a  girl ;  as  the  latter  is  a 
matter  of  too  much  trouble.  To  be  constantly  visiting 
houses  of  prostitution  is,  for  aesthetic  reasons,  repugnant 
to  me;  and  thus  I  am  always  returning  to  sohtary  onanism, 
which  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  avoid. 

"  Hundreds  of  times  I  have  said  to  myself  that,  in 
order  to  have  a  normal  sexual  sense,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  me,  first  of  all,  to  overcome  my  irresistible  passion 
for  onanism, — a  practice  so  repugnant  to  my  aesthetic 
feeling.  Again  and  again  I  have  resolved  with  all  my 
mic^ht  to  fight  this  passion ;  but  I  am  still  unsuccessful. 
When  I  felt  the  sexual  impulse  gaining  strength,  instead 
of  seeking  satisfaction  in  the  natural  manner,  I  preferred 
to  masturbate,  because  I  felt  that  I  would  thus  have  more 
enjoyment. 

"  And  yet  experience  has  taught  me  that  I  am  always 
potent  with  girls,  and  that,  too,  without  trouble  and  with- 
out the  vision  of  masculine  genitals.  In  one  case,  how- 
ever, I  did  not  attain  ejaculation  because  the  woman — it 
was  in  a  brothel — was  devoid  of  every  charm.  I  cannot 
avoid  the  thought  and  severe  self-accusation  that,  to  a 
certain  extent,  my  inverted  sexuality  is  the  result  of 
excessive  onanism  ;  and  this  especially  depresses  me,  be- 
cause I  am  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  I  scarcely  feel 
strong  enough  to  overcome  this  vice  by  the  force  of  my 
own  will. 

"  As  a  result  of  my  relations  for  years  with  a  fellow- 
student  and  pal,  mentioned  in  this  communication — 
which,  however,  began  while  we  were  at  the  university, 
and  after  we  had  been  friends  for  seven  years — the  im- 
pulse to  unnatural  satisfaction  of  libido  has  grown  much 
stronger.  I  trust  you  will  permit  the  description  of  an 
incident  which  worried  me  for  months  : — 

"  In  the  summer  of  1882,  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  companion  six  years  younger  than  myself,  who,  with 


280  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

several  others,  had  been  introduced  to  me  and  my  ac- 
quaintances.    I'  very  soon  felt   a  deep   interest   in   this 
handsome  man,  who   was   unusually  well-proportioned, 
shm,  and  full  of  health.     After  a  few  weeks  of  associa- 
tion, this  hking  ripened  into  friendship,  and  at  last  into 
passionate  love,  with  feelings  of  the  most  intense  jealousy. 
I  very  soon  noticed  that  in  this  love  sexual  excitation  was 
also  very  marked  ;  and,  notwithstanding  my  determina- 
tion, aside  from  all  others,  to  keep  myself  in  check  in 
relation  to  this  man,  whom  I  respected  so  highly  for  his 
superior  character,  one  night,  after  free   indulgence   in 
beer,  as  we  were  enjoying  a  bottle  of  champagne  in  my 
room,  and  drinking  to  good,  true  and  lasting  friendship, 
I  yielded  to  the  irresistible  impulse  to  embrace  him,  etc. 
"  When  I  saw  him  next  day,  I  was  so  ashamed  that 
I  could  not  look  him  in  the  face.    I  felt  the  deepest  regret 
for  my  action,  and  accused  myself  bitterly  for  having  thus 
suUied  this  friendship,  which  was  to  be  and  remain  so 
pure  and  precious.     In  order  to  prove  to  him  that  I  had 
lost  control  of  myself  only  momentarily,  at  the  end  of 
the  semester  I  urged  him  to  make  an  excursion  with  me  ; 
and  after  some  reluctance,  the  reason  of  which  was  only 
too  clear  to  me,  he  consented.     Several  nights  we  slept 
in  the  same  room  without  any  attempt  on  my  part  to 
repeat  my  action.     I  wished  to  talk  with  him  about  the 
event  of  that  night,  but  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  it ; 
even  when,  during  the  next  semester,  we  were  separated, 
I  could  not  induce  myself  to  write  to  him  on  the  subject ; 
and  when  I  visited  him  in  March  at  X.,  it  was  the  same. 
And  yet  I  felt  a  great  desire  to  clear  up  this  dark  point 
by  an  open  statement.     In  October  of  the  same  year  I 
was  again  in  X.,  and  this  time  found  courage  to  speak 
without  reserve  ;  indeed,  I  asked  him  why  he  had  not 
resisted  me.     He  answered  that,  in  part,  it  was  because 
he  wished  to  please  me,  and,  in  part,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  somewhat  apathetic  as  a  result  of  being  a 
little  intoxicated.     I  explained  to  him  my  condition,  and 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH    SEXES.  281 

also  gave  him  "  Psychopathia  Sexualis  "  to  read,  express- 
ing the  hope  that  by  the  force  of  my  own  will  I  should 
become  fully  and  lastingly  master  of  my  unnatural  im- 
pulse. Since  this  confession,  the  relation  between  this 
friend  and  me  has  been  the  most  delightful  and  happy 
possible  ;  there  are  the  most  friendly  feelings  on  both 
sides,  which  are  sincere  and  true ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  they  will  endure. 

"  If  I  should  not  improve  my  abnormal  condition,  I 
am  determined  to  put  myself  under  your  treatment ;  the 
more  because,  after  a  careful  study  of  your  work,  I  can- 
not count  myself  as  belonging  to  the  category  of  so-called 
urnings  ;  and  also  because  I  have  the  firm  conviction,  or 
hope,  at  least,  that  a  strong  will,  assisted  and  combined 
with  skilful  treatment,  could  transform  me  into  a  man 
of  normal  feeling." 

Case  105.  lima  S.,^  aged  twenty-nine;  single;  mer- 
chant's daughter.  She  comes  of  a  family  having  bad 
nervous  taint.  Father  was  a  drinker  and  died  by  suicide, 
as  also  did  the  patient's  brother  and  sister.  A  sistei 
suffers  with  convulsive  hysteria.  Mother's  father  shot 
himself  while  insane.  Mother  was  sickly,  and  paralysed 
after  apoplexy.  The  patient  never  had  any  severe  illness. 
She  is  bright,  enthusiastic  and  dreamy.  Menses  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  without  difficulty  ;  but  thereafter  they 
were  very  irregular.  At  fourteen,  chlorosis  and  catalepsy 
from  fright.  Later,  hysteria  gravis  and  an  attack  of 
hysterical  insanity.  At  eighteen,  relations  with  a  young 
man  which  were  not  platonic.  This  man's  love  was  pas- 
sionately returned.  From  statements  of  the  patient,  it 
seems  that  she  was  very  sensual,  and  after  separation 
from  her  lover  practised  masturbation.  After  this  she 
led  a  romantic  life.  In  order  to  earn  a  living,  she  put 
on  male  clothing,  and  became  a  tutor  ;  but  she  gave  up 

^  Cf.  author's  "  Experimental  Study  in  the  Domain  of  Hypnotism," 
third  edition,  1893. 


282  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

her  place  because  her  mistress,  not  knowing  her  sex,  fell 
in  lo\e  with  her  and  courted  her.  Then  she  became  a 
railway-employee.  In  the  company  of  her  companions, 
in  order  to  conceal  her  sex,  she  was  compelled  to  visit 
brothels  with  them,  and  hear  the  most  vulgar  stories. 
This  became  so  distasteful  to  her  that  she  gave  up  her 
place,  resumed  the  garments  of  a  female,  and  again  sought 
to  earn  her  living.  She  was  arrested  for  a  theft,  and  on 
account  of  severe  hystero-epilepsy  was  sent  to  the  hos- 
pital. There  inclination  and  impulse  toward  the  same 
sex  were  discovered.  The  patient  became  troublesome  on 
account  of  passionate  love  for  female  nurses  and  patients. 

Her  sexual  inversion  was  considered  congenital. 
With  regard  to  this,  the  patient  made  some  interesting 
statements  : — 

"  I  am  judged  incorrectly,  if  it  is  thought  that  I  feel 
myself  a  man  toward  the  female  sex.  In  my  whole 
thought  and  feeling  I  am  much  more  a  woman.  Did  I 
not  love  my  cousin  as  only  a  woman  can  love  a  man  ? 

"  The  change  of  my  feeling  originated  in  this,  that,  in 
Pesth,  dressed  as  a  man,  I  had  an  opportunity  to  observe 
my  cousin.  I  saw  that  I  was  wholly  deceived  in  him.  That 
gave  me  terrible  heart-pangs.  I  knew  that  I  could  never 
love  another  man  ;  that  I  belonged  to  those  who  love  but 
once.  Of  similar  effect  was  the  fact  that,  in  the  society  of 
my  companions  at  the  railway,  I  was  compelled  to  hear 
the  most  offensive  language  and  visit  the  most  disreput- 
able houses.  As  a  result  of  the  insight  into  men's  motives, 
gained  in  this  way,  I  took  an  unconquerable  dislike  to 
them.  However,  since  I  am  of  a  very  passionate  nature 
and  need  to  have  some  loving  person  on  whom  to  depend, 
and  to  whom  I  can  wholly  surrender  myself,  I  felt  myself 
more  and  more  powerfully  drawn  toward  intelligent  women 
and  girls  who  were  in  sympathy  with  me." 

The  antipathic  sexual  instinct  of  this  patient,  which  was 
clearly  acquired,  expressed  itself  in  a  stormy  and  decidedly 
sensual  way,  and  was  further  augmented  by  masturbation; 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH    SEXES.  283 

because  constant  control  in  hospitals  made  sexual  satisfac- 
tion with  the  same  sex  impossible.  Character  and  occupa- 
tion remained  feminine.  There  were  no  manifestations 
of  viraginity.  According  to  information  lately  received  by 
the  author,  this  patient,  after  two  years  of  treatment  in 
an  asylum,  was  entirely  freed  from  her  neurosis  and  sexual 
inversion,  and  discharged  cured. 

Case  106.  Mr.  X.,  aged  thirty-five,  single,  civil 
servant ;    mother  insane,  brother  hypochondriacal. 

Patient  was  healthy,  strong,  of  lively  sensual  tempera- 
ment. He  had  manifested  powerful  sexual  instinct  abnor- 
mally early,  and  masturbated  while  yet  a  small  boy.  He 
had  coitus  the  first  time  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  says, 
with  enjoyment  and  complete  power.  When  fifteen  years 
old,  a  man  sought  to  seduce  him,  and  performed  manustu- 
pration  on  him.  X.  experienced  a  feeling  of  repulsion,  and 
freed  himself  from  the  disgusting  situation.  At  maturity 
he  committed  excesses  in  libido,  with  coitus  ;  in  1880  he 
became  neurasthenic,  being  afflicted  with  weakness  of  erec- 
tion and  ejaculatio  prcecox.  He  thus  became  less  and  less 
potent,  and  no  longer  experienced  pleasure  in  the  sexual 
act.  At  this  period  of  sexual  decadence,  for  a  long  time 
he  still  had  what  was  previously  foreign  to  him,  and  is 
still  incomprehensible  to  him, — an  inclination  for  sexual 
intercourse  with  immature  girls  of  the  age  of  twelve  or 
thirteen.     His  libido  increased  as  virility  diminished. 

Gradually  he  developed  inclination  for  boys  of  thirteen 
or  fourteen.     He  was  impelled  to  approach  them. 

Quodsi  ei  occasio  data  est  ut  tangere  posset  pueros  qui 
ei  placuere,  penis  vehementer  se  erexit  turn  maxime  quum 
crura  puerorum  tangere  potuisset.  Abhinc  feminas  non 
cupivit.  Nonnunquam  feminas  ad  coitum  coegit  sed  erectio 
debilis,  ejaculatio  praematura  erat  sine  ulla  voluptate. 

Now  only  youths  interested  him.  He  dreamed  about 
them  and  had  pollutions.  After  1882  he  now  and  then 
had   opportunity   concumbere  cum  jtcvenibus.      This  led  to 


284  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALTS. 

powerful  sexual  excitement,  which  he  satisfied  by  mas- 
turbation. It  was  quite  exceptional  for  him  to  venture 
touching  his  bed-fellow  and  indulging  in  mutual  mas- 
turbation. He  shunned  pederasty.  For  the  most  part,  he 
was  compelled  to  satisfy  his  sexual  needs  by  means  of 
solitary  masturbation.  In  the  act  he  called  up  the  vision 
of  pleasing  boys.  After  sexual  intercourse  with  such  boys, 
he  always  felt  strengthened  and  refreshed,  but  morally 
depressed  ;  because  there  was  consciousness  of  having 
performed  a  perverse,  indecent  and  punishable  act.  He 
found  it  painful  that  his  disgusting  impulse  was  more 
powerful  than  his  will. 

X.  thinks  that  his  love  for  his  own  sex  has  resulted 
from  great  excess  in  natural  sexual  intercourse,  and  be- 
moans his  situation.  On  the  occasion  of  a  consultation, 
in  December,  1889,  he  asked  whether  there  weie  any 
means  to  bring  him  back  to  a  normal  sexual  condition, 
since  he  had  no  real  horror  femincz,  and  would  very  gladly 
marry. 

This  intelligent  patient,  free  from  degenerative  signs, 
presented  no  abnormal  symptoms  except  those  of  sexual 
and  spinal  neurasthenia  in  a  moderate  degree. 

II.  Degree :  Eviration  and  Defemination. 

If,  in  cases  of  antipathic  sexual  instinct  thus  developed, 
no  restoration  occurs,  then  deep  and  lasting  transforma- 
tions of  the  2) sy chic al  personality  may  occur.  The  process 
completing  itself  in  this  way  may  be  briefly  designated 
»viration  (defemination  in  woman).  The  patient  undergoes 
a  deep  change  of  character,  particularly  in  his  feelings 
and  inclinations,  which  thus  become  those  of  a  female. 
After  this,  he  also  feels  himself  to  be  a  woma.n  during  the 
sexual  act,  has  desire  only  for  passive  sexual  indulgence, 
and,  under  certain  circumstances,  sinks  to  the  level  of  a 
prostitute.  In  this  condition  of  deep  and  more  lasting 
psycho-sexual  transformation,  the  individual  is  like  unto 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH   SEXES.  285 

the  (congenital)  urning  of  high  grade.  The  possibility  of  a 
restoration  of  the  previous  mental  and  sexual  personality 
seems  in  such  a  case,  precluded. 

The  following  case  is  a  classical  example  of  this  variety 
of  lasting  acquired  antipathic  sexual  instinct : — 

Case  107.  Sch.,  aged  thirty,  physician,  one  day  told 
me  the  story  of  his  Hfe  and  malad}^,  asking  for  explana- 
tion and  advice  concerning  certain  anomalies  of  his  vita 
sexualis.  The  following  description  gives,  for  the  most 
part  verbatim,  the  details  of  the  autobiography ;  only  in 
some  portions  it  is  shortened : — 

"  My  parents  were  healthy.  As  a  child  I  was  sickly  ; 
but  with  good  care  I  thrived,  and  got  on  well  in  school. 
When  eleven  years  old,  I  was  taught  to  masturbate  by  my 
playmates,  and  gave  myself  up  to  it  passionately.  Until 
I  was  fifteen,  I  learned  easily.  On  account  of  frequent 
pollutions,  I  became  less  capable,  did  not  get  on  well  in 
school,  and  was  uncertain  and  embarrassed  when  called 
on  by  the  teacher.  Frightened  by  my  loss  of  capability, 
and  recognising  that  the  loss  of  semen  was  responsible  for 
it,  I  gave  up  masturbation  ;  but  the  pollutions  became 
even  more  frequent,  so  that  I  often  had  two  or  three  in  a 
night.  In  despair,  I  now  consulted  one  physician  after 
another.     None  were  able  to  help  me. 

"  Since  I  grew  weaker  and  weaker,  by  reason  of  the 
loss  of  semen,  with  the  sexual  appetite  growing  more  and 
more  powerful,  I  sought  houses  of  prostitution.  But  I  was 
there  unable  to  find  satisfaction  ;  for,  even  though  the 
sight  of  a  naked  female  pleased  me,  neither  orgasm  nor 
erection  occurred  ;  and  even  manustupration  by  the  puella 
was  not  capable  of  inducing  erection.  Scarcely  would  I 
leave  the  house,  when  the  impulse  would  seize  me  again, 
and  I  would  have  violent  erections.  I  grew  ashamed 
before  the  girls,  and  ceased  to  visit  such  houses.  Thus  a 
couple  of  years  passed.  My  sexual  life  consisted  of  pollu- 
tions.    My  inclination  toward  the  opposite  sex  grew  less 


286  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

and  less.  At  nineteen  I  went  to  the  university.  The 
theatre  had  more  attractions  for  me.  I  wished  to  become 
an  actor.  My  parents  were  not  wilhng.  At  the  metro- 
pohs  I  was  compelled  now  and  then  to  visit  girls  with  my 
comrades.  I  feared  such  a  situation  ;  because  I  knew  that 
coitus  was  impossible  for  me,  and  because  my  friends 
might  discover  my  impotence.  Therefore,  I  avoided,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  danger  of  becoming  the  butt  of  their 
jokes  and  ridicule. 

"  One  evening,  in  the  opera-house,  an  old  gentleman 
sat  near  me.  He  courted  me.  I  laughed  heartily  at  the 
foolish  old  man,  and  entered  into  his  joke.  Exinopinato 
genitalia  mea  prehendit,  quo  facto  statim  penis  meus  se 
erexit.  Frightened,  I  demanded  of  him  what  he  meant. 
He  said  that  he  was  in  love  with  me.  Having  heard  of 
hermaphrodites  in  the  clinics,  I  thought  I  had  one  before 
me,  and  became  curious  to  see  his  genitals.  The  old  man 
was  very  willing,  and  went  with  me  to  the  water-closet. 
Sicuti  penem  maximum  ejus  erectum  adspexi,  perterritus 
effugi. 

"  This  man  followed  me,  and  made  strange  proposals 
which  I  did  not  understand,  and  repelled.  He  did  not  give 
me  any  rest.  I  learned  the  secrets  of  male  love  for  males, 
and  felt  that  my  sexuality  was  excited  by  it.  But  I 
resisted  the  shameful  passion  (as  I  then  regarded  it),  and, 
for  the  next  three  years,  I  remained  free  from  it.  During 
this  time  I  repeatedly  attempted  coitus  with  girls  in  vain. 
My  attempts  to  free  myself  of  my  impotence  by  means  of 
medical  treatment  were  also  in  vain.  Once,  when  my 
libido  sexualis  was  troubling  me  again,  I  recalled  what 
the  old  man  had  told  me  :  that  male-loving  men  were 
accustomed  to  meet  on  the  E.  Promenade. 

"  After  a  hard  struggle,  and  with  beating  heart,  I  went 
there,  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  blonde  man,  and  allowed 
myself  to  be  seduced.  The  first  step  was  taken.  This 
kind  of  sexual  love  was  satisfactory  to  me.  I  always 
preferred  to  be  in  the  arms  of  a  strong  man.     The  satis- 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH   SEXES.  287 

faction  consisted  of  mutual  manustupration  ;  occasionally 
in  osculum  ad  penem  aUerius.  I  was  then  twenty-three 
years  old.  Sitting,  together  with  my  comrades,  on  the  beds 
of  patients  in  the  clinic  during  the  lectures,  excited  me  so 
intensely  that  I  could  scarcely  listen  to  the  lectures.  In 
the  same  year  I  entered  into  a  formal  love-relation  with  a 
merchant  of  thirty-four.  We  lived  as  man  and  vnie.  X. 
played  the  man,  and  fell  more  and  more  in  love.  I  gave 
up  to  him,  but  now  and  then  I  had  to  play  the  man.  After 
a  time  I  grew  tired  of  him,  became  unfaithful  and  he 
grew  jealous.  There  were  terrible  scenes.,  which  led  to 
temporary  separation,  and  finally  to  actual  rupture.  (The 
merchant  afterwards  became  insane,  and  died  by  suicide.) 

"  I  made  many  acquaintances,  and  loved  the  most  or- 
dinary people.  I  preferred  those  having  a  full  beard,  and 
who  were  tall  and  of  middle  age,  and  able  to  play  the  active 
role  well.  I  developed  a  proctitis.  The  professor  thought 
it  was  the  result  of  sitting  too  much  while  preparing  for 
examinations.  I  developed  a  fistula,  and  had  to  undergo 
an  operation  ;  but  this  did  not  cure  me  of  my  desire  to  let 
myself  be  used  passivelj'.  I  became  a  physician  and  went 
to  a  provincial  town,  where  I  had  to  live  like  a  nun.  I 
developed  a  desire  to  move  in  ladies'  society,  and  was 
gladly  welcomed  there ;  because  it  was  found  that  I  was 
not  so  one-sided  as  most  men,  and  was  interested  in 
toilettes  and  such  feminine  things.  However,  I  felt  very 
unhappy  and  lonesome.  Fortunately,  in  this  town,  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  man,  a  '  sister,'  who  felt  hke 
me.  For  some  time  I  was  taken  care  of  by  him.  When 
he  had  to  leave  I  had  an  attack  of  despair,  with  depres- 
sion, which  was  accompanied  by  thoughts  of  suicide. 

"  When  it  became  impossible  for  me  to  longer  endure 
the  town,  I  became  a  military  surgeon  in  the  capital. 
There  I  began  to  hve  again,  and  often  made  two  or  three 
acquaintances  in  one  day.  I  had  never  loved  boys  or 
young  people  ;  only  fully  developed  men.  The  thought  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  police  was  Ixightful.     Thus  I 


288  PSTCHOPATHIA  SEXUALIS. 

have  escaped  the  clutches  of  the  blackmailer.  At  the 
same  time,  I  could  not  keep  myself  from  the  gratification 
of  my  impulse.  After  some  months  I  fell  in  love  vi^ith  an 
official  of  forty.  I  remained  true  to  him  for  a  year,  and 
we  lived  like  a  pair  of  lovers.  I  was  the  wife,  and  was 
formally  courted  by  the  lover.  One  day  I  was  transferred 
to  a  small  town.  We  were  in  despair.  The  last  night  was 
spent  in  continually  kiosing  and  caressing  one  another. 

"In  T.  I  was  unspeakably  unhappy,  in  spite  of  some 
'  sisters  '  whom  I  found.  I  could  not  forget  my  lover.  In 
order  to  satisfy  my  sexual  desire,  which  cried  for  satis- 
faction, I  chose  soldiers.  Money  obtained  men  ;  but  they 
remained  cold,  and  I  had  no  enjoyment  with  them.  I 
was  successful  in  being  retransferred  to  the  capital,  where 
there  was  a  new  love  relation,  but  much  jealousy;  because 
my  lover  liked  to  go  into  the  society  of  '  sisters,'  and  was 
proud  and  coquettish.  There  was  a  rupture.  I  was  very 
unhappy  and  very  glad  to  be  transferred  from  the  capital. 
I  now  stayed  in  C,  alone  and  in  despair.  Two  infantry 
privates  were  brought  into  service, '  but  with  the  same 
unsatisfactory  results.  When  shall  I  ever  find  true  love 
again? 

"  I  am  over  medium  height,  well  developed,  and  look 
somewhat  aged ;  and,  therefore,  when  I  wish  to  make 
conquests  I  use  the  arts  of  the  toilet.  My  maimer,  move- 
ments and  face  are  mascuhne.  Physically  I  feel  as  youth- 
ful as  a  boy  of  twenty.  I  love  the  theatre,  and  especially 
art.  My  interest  in  the  stage  is  in  the  actresses,  whose 
every  movement  and  gesture  I  notice  and  criticise. 

"In  the  society  of  gentlemen  I  am  silent  and  em- 
barrassed, while  in  the  society  of  those  like  myself  I  am 
free,  witty,  and  as  fawning  as  a  cat  if  a  man  is  sympathetic. 
If  I  am  without  love,  I  become  deeply  melancholic ;  but 
the  favours  of  the  first  handsome  man  dispel  my  depres- 
sion. In  other  ways  I  am  frivolous  and  very  ambitious. 
My  profession  is  nothing  to  me.  Masculine  pursuits  do 
not  interest  me.    I  prefer  novels  and  going  to  the  theatre. 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH    SEXES.  289 

I  am  effeminate,  sensitive,  easily  moved,  easily  injured 
and  nervous.  A  sudden  noise  makes  my  whole  body 
tremble,  and  I  have  to  collect  myself  in  order  to  keep 
from  crying  out." 

Remarks  :  The  foregoing  case  is  certainly  one  of  acquired 
antipathic  sexual  instinct,  since  the  sexual  instinct  and 
impulse  were  originally  directed  toward  the  female  sex. 
Sch.  became  neurasthenic  through  masturbation. 

As  an  accompanying  manifestation  of  the  neurasthenic 
neurosis,  lessened  impressionability  of  the  erection-centre 
and  consequent  relative  impotence  developed.  As  a  result 
of  this,  sexual  sensibility  toward  the  opposite  sex  de- 
creased, with  simultaneous  persistence  of  libido  sexualis. 
The  acquired  antipathic  sexual  instinct  must  be  abnormal, 
since  the  first  touch  by  a  person  of  the  same  sex  is  an 
adequate  stimulus  for  the  erection-centre.  The  perverse 
sexual  feeling  becomes  complete. — At  first  Sch.  felt  like  a 
man  in  the  sexual  act ;  but  more  and  more,  as  the  change 
progressed,  the  feeling  and  desire  of  satisfaction  changed 
to  the  form  which,  as  a  rule,  characterises  the  (congenital) 
urning. 

This  eviration  induces  a  desire  for  the  passive  role, 
and,  further,  for  (passive)  pederasty.  It  makes  a  deeper 
impress  on  the  character.  The  character  becomes  femi- 
nine, inasmuch  as  Sch.  now  prefers  to  move  in  the  society 
of  actual  females,  has  an  increasing  desire  for  feminine 
occupations,  and  indeed  makes  use  of  the  arts  of  the 
toilet  in  order  to  improve  his  fading  charms  and  make 
"  conquests  ". 

The  foregoing  facts  concerning  acquired  antipathic 
sexual  instinct  and  effemination  find  an  interesting  con- 
firmation in  the  following  ethnological  data  : — 

Herodotus  already  describes  a  peculiar  disease  which 
frequently  affected  the  Scythians.  The  disease  consisted 
in  this :    that  men   became  effeminate  in  character,  put 

19 


290  PSYGH.OPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

on  female  garments,  did  the  work  of  women,  and  even 
became  effeminate  in  appearance.  As  an  explanation  of 
this  insanity  of  the  Scythians/  Herodotvs  relates  the  myth 
that  the  goddess  Venus,  angered  by  the  plundering  of  the 
temple  at  Ascalon  by  the  Scythians,  had  made  women  of 
these  plunderers  and  their  posterity. 

IIij)'pocrates,  not  believing  in  supernatural  diseases,  re- 
cognised that  impotence  was  here  a  causative  factor,  and 
explained  it,  though  incorrectly,  as  due  to  the  custom  of 
the  Scythians  to  have  themselves  bled  behind  the  ears  in 
order  to  cure  disease  superinduced  by  constant  horse-back 
riding.  He  thought  that  these  veins  were  of  great  import- 
ance in  the  preservation  of  the  sexual  powers,  and  that 
when  they  were  severed,  impotence  was  induced.  Since 
the  Scythians  considered  their  impotence  due  to  divine 
punishment  and  incurable,  they  put  on  the  clothing  of 
females,  and  lived  as  women  among  women. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  according  to  Klaproth  ("  Reise 
•In  dem  Kaukasus,"  Berlin,  1812,  v.,  p.  285)  and  Chotomshi. 
even  at  the  present  time  impotence  is  very  frequent 
among  the  Tartars,  as  a  result  of  riding  unsaddled  horses. 
The  same  is  observed  among  the  Apaches  and  Navajos 
of  the  western  continent  who  ride  excessively,  scarcely 
ever  going  on  foot,  and  are  remarkable  for  small  genitals 
and  mild  libido  and  virility.  Sprengel,  Lallemaiid  and 
Nystcn  recognised  the  fact  that  excessive  riding  may  be 
injurious  to  the  sexual  organs. 

Hammond  reports  analogous  observations  of  great  in- 
terest concerning  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico. 
These  descendants  of  the  Aztecs  cultivate  so-called  "  mu- 


1  Cf.  Sprengel,  "  Apologie  des  Hippokrates,"  Leipzig,  1792,  p.  611 
Friedreich,  "  Literargeschichte  der  psych.  Krankheiten,"  1830,  p.  31 
Lalkmand,  "Des  pertes  seminales,"  Paris,  1836,  L,  p.  581;  Nysten,  "Die, 
tionn.  de  medecine,"  xi.  edit.,  Paris,  1858,  Art.  "  Eviration  et  Maladie  des 
Scythes";  Marandon,  "  De  la  maladie  des  Scythes";  "  Annal.  mldico- 
psychol.,"  1877,  Mars,  p.  161;  Hammond,  'American  Journal  of  Neu- 
rology and  Psychiatry,"  August,  1882. 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN   BOTH    SEXES.  291 

jerados,"  of  which  every  Pueblo  tribe  requires  one  in  the 
reh'gious  ceremonies  (actual  orgies  in.  the  spring),  in  which 
pederasty  plays  an  important  part.  In  order  to  cultivate 
a  "  mujerado,"  a  very  powerful  man  is  chosen,  and  he 
is  made  to  masturbate  excessively  and  ride  constantly. 
Gradually  such  irritable  weakness  of  the  genital  organs  is 
engendered  that,  in  riding,  great  loss  of  semen  is  induced. 
This  condition  of  irritability  passes  into  paralytic  im- 
potence. Then  atrophy  of  the  testicles  and  penis  sets  in 
the  hair  of  the  beard  falls  out,  the  voice  loses  its  depth 
and  compass,  and  physical  strength  and  energy  decrease. 
Inclinations  and  disposition  become  feminine.  The  "  mu- 
jerado "  loses  his  position  in  society  as  a  man.  He  takes 
on  feminine  manners  and  customs,  and  associates  with 
women.  Yet,  for  rehgious  reasons,  he  is  held  in  honour. 
It  is  probable  that,  at  other  times  than  during  the  festivals 
he  is  used  by  the  chiefs  for  pederasty.  Hammond  had 
an  opportunity  to  examine  two  "  mujerados  ".  One  had 
become  such  seven  years  before,  and  was  thirty-five  years 
old  at  the  time.  Seven  years  previous,  he  was  entirely 
masculine  and  potent.  He  had  noticed  gradual  atrophy 
of  the  testicles  and  penis.  At  the  same  time  he  lost  lihido 
and  the  power  of  erection.  He  differed  in  nowise,  in 
dress  and  manner,  from  the  women  among  whom  Ham- 
rmnd  found  him.  The  genital  hair  was  wanting,  the 
penis  was  shrunken,  the  scrotum  lax  and  pendulous,  and 
the  testicles  were  very  much  atrophied  and  no  longer 
sensitive  to  pressure.  The  "  mujerado  "  had  large  mavimcB 
like  a  pregnant  woman,  and  asserted  that  he  had  nursed 
several  children  whose  mothers  had  died.  A  second  "  mu- 
jerado," aged  thirty-six,  after  he  had  been  ten  years  in 
the  condition,  presented  the  same  peculiarities,  though 
with  less  development  of  mamma.  Like  the  first,  the 
voice  was  high  and  thin.    The  body  was  plump. 


292  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

III.  Degree :  Stage  of  Transition  to   Metamoiyhosis    Sexualis 

Paranoica. 

A  further  degree  of  development  is  represented  by 
those  cases  in  which  physical  sensation  is  also  transformed 
in  the  sense  of  a  transmutatio  sexus.  In  this  respect  the 
following  case  is  unique  : — 

Case  108.  Autohiograj)Mj .  "Born  in  Hungary  in 
1844,  for  many  years  I  was  the  only  child  of  my  parents ; 
for  the  other  children  died  for  the  most  part  of  general 
weakness.     A  brother  of  later  birth  is  still  living. 

"  I  come  of  a  family  in  which  nervous  and  mental 
diseases  have  been  numerous.  It  is  said  that  I  was  very 
pretty  as  a  Httle  child,  with  blonde  locks  and  transparent 
skin  ;  very  obedient,  quiet  and  modest,  so  that  I  was  taken 
everywhere  in  the  society  of  ladies  without  any  offence  on 
my  part. 

"  With  a  very  active  imagination — my  enemy  through 
life — my  talents  developed  rapidly.  I  could  read  and  write 
at  the  age  of  four ;  my  memory  reaches  back  to  my  third 
year.  I  played  with  everything  that  fell  into  my  hands, — 
with  leaden  soldiers,  or  stones,  or  ribbons  from  a  toy-shop  ; 
but  a  machine  for  working  in  wood,  that  was  given  to  me 
as  a  present,  I  did  not  like.  I  hked  best  to  be  at  home 
with  my  mother,  who  was  everything  to  me.  I  had  two 
or  three  friends  with  whom  I  got  on  good-naturedly;  but 
I  liked  to  play  with  their  sisters  quite  as  well,  who  always 
treated  me  like  a  girl,  which  at  first  did  not  embarrass  me. 
I  must  have  already  been  on  the  road  to  become  just  like 
a  girl ;  at  least,  I  can  still  well  remember  how  it  was 
always  said :  '  He  is  not  intended  for  a  boy '.  At  this  I 
tried  to  play  the  boy,— imitated  my  companions  in  every- 
thing, and  tried  to  surpass  them  in  wildness.  In  this  I 
succeeded.  There  was  no  tree  or  building  too  high  for 
me  to  reach  its  top.  I  took  great  delight  in  soldiers.  I 
avoided  girls  more,  because  I  did  not  wish  to  play  with 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING   IN   BOTH    SEXES.  293 

their  playthings  ;   and  it  always  annoyed  me  that  they 
treated  me  so  much  like  one  of  themselves. 

"  In  the  society  of  mature  people,  however,  I  was 
always  modest,  and,  also,  always  regarded  with  favour. 
Fantastic  dreams  about  wild  animals — which  once  drove 
me  out  of  bed  without  waking  me — frequently  troubled 
me.  I  was  always  very  simply  but  very  elegantly  dressed, 
and  thus  developed  a  taste  for  beautiful  clothing.  It  seems 
peculiar  to  me  that,  from  the  time  of  my  school-days,  I 
had  a  partiality  for  ladies'  gloves,  which  I  put  on  secretly 
as  often  as  I  could.  Thus,  when  once  my  mother  was 
about  to  give  away  a  pair  of  gloves,  I  made  great  opposi- 
tion to  it,  and  told  her,  when  she  asked  why  I  acted  so, 
that  I  wanted  them  myself.  I  was  laughed  at ;  and  from 
that  time  I  took  good  care  not  to  display  my  preference 
for  female  things.  Yet  my  delight  in  them  was  very  great. 
I  took  especial  pleasure  in  masquerade  costumes — i.e.,  only 
in  female  attire.  If  I  saw  them,  I  envied  their  owners. 
What  seemed  to  me  the  prettiest  sight  was  :  two  young 
Jnen,  beautifully  dressed  as  white  ladies,  with  masks  on  ; 
and  yet  I  would  not  have  shown  myself  to  others  as  a  girl 
for  anything  ;  I  was  so  afraid  of  being  ridiculed.  At  school 
I  worked  very  hard,  and  was  always  among  the  first. 
From  childhood  my  parents  taught  me  that  duty  came 
first ;  and  they  always  set  me  an  example.  It  was  also  a 
pleasure  for  me  to  attend  school  ;  for  the  teachers  were 
kind,  and  the  elder  pupils  did  not  plague  the  younger  ones. 
We  left  my  first  home  ;  for  my  father  was  compelled,  on 
account  of  his  business, — which  was  dear  to  him, — to  sepa- 
rate from  his  family  for  a  year.  We  moved  to  Germany. 
Here  there  was  a  stricter,  rougher  manner,  partly  in 
teachers  and  partly  in  pupils  ;  and  I  was  again  ridiculed 
on  account  of  my  girlishness.  My  schoolmates  went  so 
far  as  to  give  a  girl,  who  had  exactly  my  features,  my 
name,  and  me  hers  ;  so  that  I  hated  the  girl.  But  I  later 
came  to  be  on  terms  of  friendship  with  her  after  her 
marriage.     My  mother  tried  to  dress  me  elegantly  ;  but 


294  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

this  was  repugnant  to  me,  because  it  made  me  the 
object  of  taunting.  So,  finally,  I  was  delighted  when  I 
had  correct  trousers  and  coats.  But  with  these  came  a 
new  annoyance.  They  irritated  my  genitals,  particularly 
when  the  cloth  was  rough  ;  and  the  touch  of  tailors  while 
measuring  me,  on  account  of  their  tickling,  which  almost 
convulsed  me,  was  unendurable,  particularly  about  the 
genitals  Then  I  had  to  practise  gymnastics ;  and  I 
simply  could  do  nothing  at  all,  or  only  indifferently  the 
things  that  even  girls  can  do  easily.  While  bathing  I  was 
troubled  by  feeling  ashamed  to  undress  ;  but  I  liked  to 
bathe.  Until  my  twelfth  year  I  had  a  great  weakness,  in 
my  back.  I  learned  to  swim  late,  but  ultimately  so  well 
that  I  took  long  swims.  At  thirteen  I  had  pubic  hair,  and 
was  about  six  feet  tall ;  but  my  face  was  feminine  until 
my  eighteenth  year,  when  my  beard  came  in  abundance 
and  gave  me  rest  from  resemblance  to  woman.  An 
inguinal  hernia  that  was  acquired  in  my  twelfth  year, 
and  cured  when  I  was  twenty,  gave  me  much  trouble, 
particularly  in  gymnastics.  Besides,  from  my  twelfth 
year  on,  I  had,  after  sitting  long,  and  particularly  while 
working  at  night,  an  itching,  burning  and  twitching, 
extending  from  the  penis  to  my  back,  which  the  acts  of 
sitting  and  standing  increased,  and  which  was  made 
worse  by  catching  cold.  But  I  had  no  suspicion  what- 
ever that  this  could  be  connected  with  the  genitals. 
Since  none  of  my  friends  suffered  in  this  way,  it  seemed 
strange  to  me  ;  and  it  required  the  greatest  patience  to 
endure  it ;  the  more  owing  to  the  fact  that  my  abdomen 
troubled  me. 

"  In  sexualibus  I  was  still  perfectly  innocent ;  but  now, 
as  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  I  had  a  definite  feeling 
of  preferring  to  be  a  young  lady.  A  young  lady's  form 
was  more  pleasing  to  me  ;  her  quiet  manner,  her  deport- 
ment, but  particularly  her  attire,  attracted  me.  But  I  was 
careful  not  to  allow  this  to  be  noticed  ;  and  yet  I  am  sure 
that  I  should  not  have  shrunk  from  the  castration-knife, 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH    SEXES.  295 

could  I  have  thus  attained  my  desire.  If  I  had  been  asked 
to  say  why  I  preferred  female  attire,  I  could  have  said 
nothing  more  than  that  it  attracted  me  powerfully ;  per- 
haps, also,  I  seemed  to  myself,  on  account  of  my  uncom- 
monly white  skin,  more  like  that  of  a  girl.  The  skin  of 
my  face  and  hands,  particularly,  was  very  sensitive.  Girls 
liked  my  society  ;  and,  though  I  should  have  preferred  to 
have  been  with  them  constantly,  I  avoided  them  when  I 
could  ;  for  I  had  to  exaggerate  in  order  not  to  appear 
feminine.  In  my  heart  I  always  envied  them.  I  was  par- 
ticularly envious  when  one  of  my  young  girl  friends  got 
long  dresses  and  wore  gloves  and  veils.  When,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  I  was  on  a  journey,  a  young  lady,  with  whom  I 
was  boarding,  proposed  that  I  should  mask  as  a  lady  and  go 
out  with  her ;  but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  she  was  not  alone, 
I  did  not  acquiesce,  much  as  I  should  have  hked  it.  While 
on  this  journey,  I  was  pleased  at  seeing  boys  in  one  city 
wearing  blouses  with  short  sleeves,  and  the  arms  bare.  A 
lady  elaborately  dressed  was  hke  a  goddess  to  me  ;  and  if 
even  her  band  touched  me  coldly  I  was  happy  and  envi- 
ous, and  only  too  gladly  would  have  put  myself  in  her 
place  in  the  beautiful  garments  and  lovely  form.  Never- 
theless, I  studied  assiduously,  and  passed  through  the 
Realschule  and  the  Gymnasium  in  nine  years,  passing  a 
good  final  examination.  I  remember,  when  fifteen,  to  have 
first  expressed  to  a  friend  the  wish  to  be  a  girl.  In  answer 
to  his  question,  I  could  not  give  the  reason  why.  At 
seventeen  I  got  into  fast  society  ;  I  drank  beer,  smoked, 
and  tried  to  joke  with  waiter-girls.  The  latter  liked  my 
society,  but  they  always  treated  me  as  if  I  wore  petti- 
coats. I  could  not  take  dancing  lessons,  they  repelled  me 
so  ;  but  if  I  could  have  gone  as  a  mask,  it  would  have  been 
different.  My  friends  loved  me  dearly  ;  I  hated  only  one, 
who  seduced  me  into  onanism.  Shame  on  those  days, 
which  injured  me  for  life  !  I  practised  it  quite  frequently, 
but  in  it  seemed  to  myself  like  a  double  man,  I  cannot 
describe  the  feeling ;   I  think  it  was  masculine,  but  mixed 


296  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

with  feminine  elements.  I  could  not  approach  girls  ;  I 
feared  them,  but  they  were  not  strange  to  me.  They  im- 
pressed me  as  being  more  like  myself  ;  I  envied  them.  I 
would  have  denied  myself  all  pleasures  if,  after  my  classes, 
at  home  I  could  have  been  a  girl  and  thus  have  gone  out. 
Crinoline  and  a  smoothly-fitting  glove  were  my  ideals. 
With  every  lady's  gown  I  saw  I  fancied  how  I  should  feel 
in  it, — i.e.,  as  a  lady.  I  had  no  inchnation  toward  men. 
But  I  remember  that  I  was  somewhat  lovingly  attached 
to  a  very  handsome  friend  with  a  girl's  face  and  dark  hair, 
though  I  think  I  had  no  other  wish  than  that  we  both 
might  be  girls. 

"  At  the  high-school  I  finally  once  had  coitus  ;  hoc 
modo  sensi,  me  libentius  sub  puella  concubuisse  et  penem 
meum  cum  cunno  mutatum  maluisse.  To  her  astonish- 
ment, the  girl  had  to  treat  me  as  a  girl,  and  did  it 
willingly  ;  but  she  treated  me  as  if  I  were  she  (she  was 
still  quite  inexperienced,  and,  therefore,  did  not  laugh  at 
me). 

"  When  a  student  at  times  I  was  wild,  but  I  always 
felt  that  I  assumed  this  wildness  as  a  mask.  I  drank  and 
duelled,  but  I  could  not  take  lessons  in  dancing,  because 
I  was  afraid  of  betraying  myself.  My  friendships  were 
close,  but  without  other  thoughts.  It  pleased  me  most 
to  have  a  friend  masked  as  a  lady,  or  to  study  the  ladies' 
costumes  at  a  ball.  I  understood  such  things  perfectly. 
Gradually  I  began  to  feel  hke  a  girl. 

"  On  account  of  unhappy  circumstances,  I  twice  at- 
tempted suicide.  Without  any  cause  I  once  did  not  sleep 
for  fourteen  days,  had  many  hallucinations  (visual  and 
auditory  at  the  same  time),  and  was  with  both  the  living 
and  the  dead.  The  latter  habit  of  thought  remains.  I 
also  had  a  friend  (a  lady)  who  knew  my  hobby  and  put 
on  my  gloves  for  me  ;  but  she  always  looked  upon  me 
as  a  girl.  Thus  I  understood  women  better  than  other 
men  did,  and  in  what  they  differed  from  men  ;  so  I  was 
always  treated  more  feminarum — as  if  they  had  found  in 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH    SEXES.  297 

me  a  female  friend.  On  the  whole,  I  could  not  endure 
obscenity,  and  indulged  in  it  myself  only  out  of  braggadocio 
when  it  was  necessary.  I  soon  overcame  my  aversion  to 
foul  odours  and  blood,  and  even  liked  them.  Only  some 
things  I  could  not  look  at  without  nausea.  I  was  want- 
ing in  only  one  respect :  I  could  not  understand  my  own 
condition.  I  knew  that  I  had  feminine  inclinations,  but 
believed  that  I  was  a  man.  Yet  I  doubt  whether,  with 
the  exception  of  the  attempts  at  coitus,  which  never  gave 
me  pleasure  (which  I  ascribe  to  onanism),  I  ever  admired 
a  woman  without  wishing  I  were  she  ;  or  without  asking 
myself  whether  I  should  not  like  to  be  the  woman,  or 
be  in  her  attire.  Obstetrics  I  learned  with  difficulty  (I 
was  ashamed  for  the  exposed  girls,  and  had  a  feeling 
of  pity  for  them)  ;  and  even  now  I  have  to  overcome 
a  feehng  of  fright  in  obstetrical  cases ;  indeed,  it  has 
happened  that  I  thought  I  felt  the  traction  myself. 
After  fining  several  positions  successfully  as  a  physician, 
I  went  through  a  military  campaign  as  a  volunteer 
surgeon.  Eiding,  which,  while  a  student,  was  painful  to 
me,  because  in  it  the  genitals  had  more  of  a  feminine 
feehng,  was  difficult  for  me  (it  would  have  been  easier 
in  the  female  style). 

"  Still,  I  always  thought  I  was  a  man  with  obscure 
masculine  feeling  ;  and  whenever  I  associated  with  ladies, 
I  was  still  soon  treated  as  an  inexperienced  lady.  When 
I  wore  a  uniform  for  the  first  time,  1  should  have  much 
preferred  to  have  slipped  into  a  lady's  costume,  with  a 
veil ;  I  was  disturbed  when  the  stately  uniform  attracted 
attention.  In  private  practice  I  was  successful  in  the 
three  principal  branches.  Then  I  made  another  military 
campaign  ;  and  during  this  I  came  to  understand  my 
nature  ;  for  I  think  that,  since  the  first  ass  ever  made, 
no  beast  of  burden  has  ever  had  to  endure  with  so  much 
patience  as  I  have.  Decorations  wore  not  wanting,  but 
I  was  indifferent  to  them. 

"  Thus  I  went  through  life,  such  as  it  was,  never  satis- 


298  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

fied  with  myself,  full  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  world, 
and  vacillating  between  sentimentality  and  a  wildness 
that  was  for  the  most  part  affected. 

"  My  experience  as  a  candidate  for  matrimony  was 
very  peculiar.  I  should  have  preferred  not  to  marry,  but 
family  circumstances  and  practice  forced  me  to  it.  I 
married  an  energetic,  amiable  lady,  of  a  family  in  which 
female  government  was  rampant.  I  was  in  love  with  her 
as  much  as  one  of  us  can  be  in  love — i.e.,  what  we  love 
we  love  with  our  whole  hearts,  and  live  in  it,  even  though 
we  do  not  show  it  as  much  as  a  genuine  man  does.  We 
love  our  brides  with  all  the  love  of  a  woman,  almost  as 
a  woman  might  love  her  bridegroom.  But  I  cannot  say 
this  for  myself;  for  I  still  believed  that  I  was  but  a 
depressed  man,  who  would  come  to  himself,  and  find  him- 
self out  by  marriage.  But,  even  on  my  marriage  night,  I 
felt  that  I  was  only  a  woman  in  man's  form ;  sub  femina 
locum  meum  esse  mihi  visum  est.  On  the  whole,  we 
hved  contented  and  happy,  and  for  two  years  were  child- 
less. After  a  difficult  pregnancy,  during  which  time  I 
lay  at  the  point  of  death  in  the  enemy's  own  country,  my 
wife  gave  birth  to  our  first  boy  in  a  difficult  labour, — a 
boy  still  afflicted  with  a  melancholy  nature.  Then  came 
a  second,  who  is  very  quiet ;  a  third,  full  of  peculiarities ; 
a  fourth,  a  fifth ;  and  all  have  predisposition  to  neuras- 
thenia. Since  I  always  felt  out  of  my  own  place,  I  went 
much  in  gay  society  ;  but  I  always  worked  as  much  as 
human  strength  would  endure.  I  studied  and  operated  ; 
and  I  experimented  with  many  drugs  and  methods  of 
cure,  always  on  myself.  I  left  the  regulation  of  the  house 
to  my  wife,  as  she  understood  housekeeping  very  well. 
My  marital  duties  I  performed  as  well  as  I  could,  but 
without  personal  satisfaction.  Since  the  first  coitus,  the 
mascuhne  position  in  it  has  been  repugnant,  and  also 
difficult  for  me.  I  should  have  much  preferred  to  have 
the  other  role.  When  I  had  to  dehver  my  wife,  it  almost 
broke  my  heart ;  for  I  knew  how  to  appreciate  her  pain. 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH    SEXES.  299 

Thus  we  lived  long  together,  until  severe  gout  drove  me 
to  various  baths,  and  made  me  neurasthenic.  At  the 
same  time,  I  became  so  anaemic  that  every  iew  months  I 
had  to  take  iron  for  some  time ;  otherwise  I  would  be 
almost  chlorotic  or  hysterical,  or  both.  Stenocardia  often 
troubled  me ;  then  came  unilateral  cramps  of  chin,  nose, 
neck  and  larynx ;  hemicrania  and  cramps  of  the  dia- 
phragm and  chest  muscles.  For  about  three  years  I  had 
a  feeling  as  if  the  prostate  were  enlarged, — a  bearing-down 
feeling,  as  if  giving  birth  to  something ;  and  also  pain  in 
the  hips,  constant  pain  in  the  back,  and  the  like.  Yet, 
with  the  strength  of  despair,  I  fought  against  these  com- 
plaints, which  impressed  me  as  being  female  or  effeminate, 
until  three  years  ago,  when  a  severe  attack  of  arthritis 
completely  broke  me  down. 

"But  before  this  terrible  attack  of  gout  occurred,  in 
despair,  to  lessen  the  pain  of  gout,  I  had  taken  hot  baths, 
as  near  the  temperature  of  the  body  as  possible.  On  one 
of  these  occasions  it  happened  that  I  suddenly  changed, 
and  seemed  to  be  near  death.  I  sprang  with  all  my 
remaining  strength  out  of  the  bath  :  I  had  felt  exactly  like 
a  woman  with  libido.  This  happened  when  the  extract 
of  Indian  hemp  came  into  vogue,  and  was  highly  prized. 
In  a  state  of  fear  of  a  threatened  attack  of  gout  (feeling 
perfectly  indifferent  about  life),  I  took  three  or  four  times 
the  usual  dose  of  it,  and  almost  died  of  hashish  poison- 
ing. Convulsive  laughter,  a  feeling  of  unheard  of  strength 
and  swiftness,  a  peculiar  feeling  in  brain  and  eyes,  millions 
of  sparks  streaming  from  the  brain  through  the  skin, — all 
these  feelings  occurred.  But  I  could  not  force  myself  to 
speak.  All  at  once  I  saw  myself  a  woman  from  my  toes 
to  my  breast ;  I  felt,  as  before  while  in  the  bath,  that  the 
genitals  had  shrunken,  the  pelvis  broadened,  the  breasts 
swollen  out;  a  feeling  of  unspeakable  deliglit  came  over 
me.  I  closed  iny  eyes,  so  that  at  least  I  did  not  see  the 
face  changed.  My  physician  looked  as  if  he  had  a  gigantic 
potato  instead  of  a  head  ;  my  wife  had  the  full  moon  on 


300  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

her  thorax.  And  yet,  I  was  strong  enough  to  briefly 
record  my  will  in  my  note-book  when  both  left  the  room 
for  a  short  time. 

"  But  who  could  describe  my  fright  when,  on  the  next 
morning,  I  awoke  and  found  myself  feeling  as  if  com- 
pletely changed  into  a  woman  ;  and  when,  on  standing 
and  walking,  I  felt  vulva  and  mammce. !  When  at  last  I 
raised  myself  out  of  bed,  I  felt  that  a  complete  trans- 
formation had  taken  place  in  me.  During  my  illness  a 
visitor  said :  '  He  is  too  -patient  for  a  man '.  And  the 
visitor  gave  me  a  plant  in  bloom,  which  seemed  strange, 
but  pleased  me.  From  that  time  I  was  patient,  and 
would  do  nothing  in  a  hurry ;  but  I  became  tenacious, 
like  a  cat,  though,  at  the  same  time,  mild,  forgiving  and 
no  longer  bearing  enmity, — in  short,  I  had  a  woman's 
disposition.  During  the  last  sickness  I  had  many  visual 
and  auditory  hallucinations, — spoke  with  the  dead,  etc. ; 
saw  and  heard  familiar  spirits  ;  felt  like  a  double  person  ; 
but,  while  lying  ill,  I  did  not  notice  that  the  man  in  me  had 
been  extinguished.  The  change  in  my  disposition  was  a 
piece  of  good  fortune,  for  I  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis  which 
would  certainly  have  killed  me  had  I  been  of  my  former 
disposition ;  but  now  I  was  reconciled,  for  I  no  longer 
recognised  myself.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  I  still  often 
confounded  neurasthenic  symptoms  with  the  gout,  I  took 
many  baths,  until  an  itching  of  the  skin,  with  the  feeling 
of  scabies,  instead  of  being  diminished,  was  so  increased 
that  I  gave  up  all  external  treatment  (I  was  made  more 
and  more  anaemic  by  the  baths),  and  hardened  myself  as 
best  I  could.  But  the  imperative  female  feeling  remained, 
and  became  so  strong  that  I  wear  only  the  mask  of  a  man, 
and  in  everything  else  feel  hke  a  woman  ;  and  gradually  I 
have  lost  memory  of  the  former  individuality.  What  was 
left  of  me  by  the  gout,  influenza  ruined  entirely. 

''Present  condition:  I  am  tall,  slightly  bald,  and  the 
beard  is  growing  grey.  I  begin  to  stoop.  Since  having 
influenza  I  have  lost  about  one-fourth  of  my  strength. 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN   BOTH   SEXES.  301 

Owing  to  a  valvular  lesion,  my  face  looks  somev^hat  red  ; 
full  beard ;  chronic  conjunctivitis ;  more  muscular  than 
fat.  The  left  foot  seems  to  be  developing  varicose  veins, 
and  it  often  goes  to  sleep ;  but  it  is  not  really  thickened, 
though  it  seems  to  be. 

"  The  mammary  region,  though  small,  svp'ells  out  per- 
ceptibly. The  abdomen  is  feminine  in  form  ;  the  feet  are 
placed  like  a  woman's,  and  the  calves,  etc.,  are  feminine  ; 
and  it  is  the  same  with  arms  and  hands.  I  can  wear  ladies' 
hose  and  gloves  7^  to  7|  in  size.  I  also  wear  a  corset  with- 
out annoyance.  My  weight  varies  between  168  and  184 
pounds.  Urine  without  albumen  or  sugar,  but  it  contains 
an  excess  of  uric  acid.  But  when  there  is  not  too  much 
uric  acid  in  it,  it  is  clear,  and  almost  as  clear  as  water 
after  any  excitement.  Bowels  usually  regular  ;  but  should 
they  not  be,  then  come  all  the  symptoms  of  female  consti- 
pation. Sleep  is  poor, — for  weeks  at  a  time  only  of  two 
or  three  hours'  duration.  Appetite  quite  good ;  but,  on 
the  whole,  my  stomach  will  not  bear  more  than  that  of  a 
strong  woman,  and  reacts  to  irritating  food  with  cutaneous 
eruption  and  burning  in  the  urethra.  The  skin  is  white, 
and,  for  the  most  part,  feels  quite  smooth ;  there  has  been 
unbearable  cutaneous  itching  for  the  last  two  years  ;  but 
during  the  last  few  weeks  this  has  diminished,  and  is 
now  present  only  in  the  popHteal  spaces  and  on  the 
scrotum. 

"  Tendency  to  perspire.  Perspiration  was  previously 
as  good  as  wanting,  but  now  there  are  all  the  odious 
pecuharities  of  the  female  perspiration,  particularly  about 
the  lower  part  of  the  body  ;  so  that  I  have  to  keep  myself 
cleaner  than  a  woman  (I  perfume  my  handkerchief,  and 
use  perfumed  soap  and  eau-de-Cologne). 

"  General  feeling  :  I  feel  like  a  woman  in  a  man's  form ; 
and  even  though  I  often  am  sensible  of  the  man's  form, 
yet  it  is  always  in  a  feminine  sense.  Thus,  for  example, 
I  feel  the  penis  as  chtoris  ;  the  urethra  as  urethra  and 
vaginal  orifice,  which  always  feels  a  httle  wet,  even  when 


302  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

it  is  actually  dry  ;  the  scrotum  as  labia  majora  ;  in  short,  I 
always  feel  the  vulva.  And  all  that  that  means  one  alone 
can  know  who  feels  or  has  felt  so.  But  the  skin  all  over 
my  body  feels  feminine;  it  receives  all  impressions,  wl  ether 
of  touch,  of  warmth,  or  whether  unfriendly,  as  feminine, 
and  I  have  the  sensations  of  a  woman.  I  cannot  go  with 
bare  hands,  as  both  heat  and  cold  trouble  me.  When  the 
time  is  past  when  we  men  are  permitted  to  carry  sun- 
umbrellas,  I  have  to  endure  great  sensitiveness  of  the  skin 
of  my  face,  until  sun-umbrellas  can  again  be  used.  On 
awaking  in  the  morning,  I  am  confused  for  a  few  moments, 
as  if  I  were  seeking  for  myself  ;  then  the  imperative  feel- 
ing of  being  a  woman  awakens.  I  feel  the  sense  of  the 
vulva  (that  one  is  there),  and  always  greet  the  day  with  a 
soft  or  loud  sigh  ;  for  I  have  fear  again  of  the  play  that 
must  be  carried  on  throughout  the  day.  I  had  to  learn 
everything  anew  ;  the  knife— apparatus,  everything — has 
felt  different  for  the  last  three  years  ;  and  with  the  change 
of  muscular  sense  I  had  to  learn  everything  over  again.  I 
have  been  successful,  and  only  the  use  of  the  saw  and 
bone-chisel  are  difficult  ;  it  is  almost  as  if  my  strength 
were  not  quite  sufficient.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  a 
keener  sense  of  touch  in  working  with  the  curette  in  the 
soft  parts.  It  is  unpleasant  that,  in  examining  ladies,  I 
often  feel  their  sensations  ;  but  this,  indeed,  does  not  repel 
them.  The  most  unpleasant  thing  I  experience  is  foetal 
movement.  For  a  long  time — several  months — I  was 
troubled  by  reading  the  thoughts  of  both  sexes,  and  I  still 
have  to  fight  against  it.  I  can  endure  it  better  with 
women  ;  with  men  it  is  repugnant.  Three  years  ago  I 
had  not  yet  consciously  seen  the  world  with  a  woman's 
eyes  ;  this  change  in  the  relation  of  the  eyes  to  the  brain 
came  almost  suddenly,  with  violent  headache.  I  was 
with  a  lady  whose  sexual  feeling  was  reversed,  when  sud- 
denly I  saw  her  changed  in  the  sense  I  now  feel  myself, — 
viz.,  she  as  man, — and  I  felt  myself  a  woman  in  contrast 
vvith  her  ;   so  that  I  left  her  with  ill-concealed  vexation. 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING    IN   BOTH   SEXES.  303 

At  that  time  she  had  not  yet  come  to  understand  her  own 
condition  perfectly. 

"  Since  then,  all  my  sensory  impressions  are  as  if  they 
were  feminine  in  form  and  relation.  The  cerebral  system 
almost  immediately  adjusted  itself  to  the  vegetative  ;  so 
that  all  my  ailments  were  manifested  in  a  feminine  way. 
The  sensitiveness  of  all  nerves,  particularly  that  of  the 
auditory  and  olfactory  and  trigeminal,  increased  to  a  con- 
dition of  nervousness.  If  only  a  window  slammed,  I  was 
frightened  inwardly  ;  for  a  man  dare  not  tremble  at  such 
things.  If  food  is  not  absolutely  fresh,  I  perceive  a  cadav- 
erous odour.  I  could  never  depend  on  the  trigeminus ; 
for  the  pain  would  jump  whimsically  from  one  branch  of 
it  to  another ;  from  a  tooth  to  an  eye.  But,  since  my 
transformation,  I  bear  toothache  and  migraine  more  easily, 
and  have  less  feeling  of  fear  with  stenocardia.  It  seems 
to  me  a  strange  fact  that  I  feel  myself  to  be  a  fearful,  weak 
being,  and  yet,  when  danger  threatens,  I  am  much  rather 
cool  and  collected  ,  and  this  is  true  in  dangerous  opera- 
tions. The  stomach  rebels  against  the  slightest  indiscre- 
tion (in  female  diet)  that  is  committed  without  thought  of 
the  female  nature,  either  by  ructus  or  other  symptoms ; 
but  particularly  against  abuse  of  alcoholics.  The  indis- 
position after  intoxication  that  a  man  who  feels  like  a 
woman  experiences  is  much  worse  than  any  a  student 
could  get  up.  It  seems  to  me  almost  as  if  one  feeling 
like  a  woman  were  entirely  controlled  by  the  vegetative 
system. 

"  Small  as  my  nipples  are,  they  demand  room,  and  I 
feel  them  as  mamma ;  just  as  during  the  beginning  of 
puberty  the  nipples  swelled  and  pained.  On  this  account, 
the  white  shirt,  the  waistcoat  and  the  coat  trouble  me.  I 
feel  as  though  the  pelvis  were  female  ;  and  it  is  the  same 
with  the  anus  and  nates.  At  first  the  sense  of  a  female 
abdomen  was  troublesome  to  me  ;  for  it  cannot  bear 
trousers,  and  it  always  possesses  or  induces  the  feminine 
feeling.     I  also  have  the  imperative  feeling  of  a  waist.     It 


304  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

is  as  if  I  were  robbed  of  my  own  skin,  and  put  in  a  woman*'s 
skin  that  fitted  me  perfectly,  but  which  felt  everything  as  if 
it  covered  a  woman  ;  and  whose  sensations  passed  through 
the  man's  body,  and  exterminated  the  masculine  element. 
The  testes,  even  though  not  atrophied  or  degenerated,  are 
still  no  longer  testes,  and  often  cause  me  pain,  with  the 
feeling  that  they  belong  in  the  abdomen,  and  should  be 
fastened  there  ;  and  their  mobility  often  bothers  me. 

"  Every  four  weeks,  at  the  time  of  the  full  moon,  I 
have  the  molimen  of  a  woman  for  five  days,  physically  and 
mentally,  only  I  do  not  bleed  ;  but  I  have  the  feeling  of  a 
loss  of  fluid  ;  a  feeling  that  the  genitals  and  abdomen  are 
(internally)  swollen.  A  ver}^  pleasant  period  comes  when, 
afterward  and  later  in  the  interval  for  a  day  or  two,  the 
physiological  desire  for  procreation  comes,  which  with  all 
power  permeates  the  woman.  My  whole  body  is  then  filled 
with  this  sensation,  as  an  immersed  piece  of  sugar  is  filled 
with  water,  or  as  full  as  a  soaked  sponge.  It  is  like  this  : 
first,  a  woman  longing  for  love,  and  then,  for  a  man  ;  and, 
in  fact,  the  desire,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  more  a  longing  to 
be  possessed  than  a  wish  for  coitus.  The  intense  natural 
instinct  or  the  feminine  concupiscence  overcomes  the  feel- 
ing of  modesty,  so  that  indirectly  coitus  is  desired.  I  have 
never  felt  coitus  in  a  masculine  way  more  than  three  times 
in  my  life  ;  and  even  if  it  were  so  in  general,  I  was  always 
indifferent  about  it.  But,  during  the  last  three  years,  I  have 
experienced  it  passively,  like  a  woman  ;  in  fact,  oftentimes 
with  the  feeling  of  feminine  ejaculation  ;  and  I  always  feel 
that  I  am  impregnated.  I  am  always  fatigued  as  a  woman. 
is  after  it,  and  often  feel  ill,  as  a  man  never  does.  Some- 
times it  caused  me  such  great  pleasure  that  there  is  nothing 
with  which  I  can  compare  it  ;  it  is  the  most  blissful  and 
powerful  feeling  in  the  world  ;  at  that  moment  the  woman 
is  simply  a  vulva  that  has  devoured  the  whole  person. 

"  During  the  last  three  years  I  have  never  lost  for  an 
instant  the  feeling  of  being  a  woman,  and  now,  owing  to 
habit,  this  is  no  longer  annoying  to  me,  though  during 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH   SEXES.  305 

this  period  I  have  felt  debased ;  for  a  man  could  endure 
to  feel  like  a  woman  without  a  desire  for  enjoyment ;  but 
when  desires  come,  the  happiness  ceases  !  Then  come 
the  burning,  the  heat,  the  feeling  of  turgor  of  the  genitals 
(when  the  penis  is  not  in  a  state  of  erection  the  genitals 
do  not  play  any  part).  In  case  of  intense  desire,  the 
feeling  of  sucking  in  the  vagina  and  vulva  is  really  terrible 
— a  hellish  pain  of  lust  hardly  to  be  endured.  If  I  then 
have  opportunity  to  perform  coitus,  it  is  better ;  but, 
owing  to  defective  sense  of  being  possessed  by  the  other, 
it  does  not  afford  complete  satisfaction  ;  the  feeling  of 
sterility  comes  with  its  weight  of  shame,  added  to  the 
feeling  of  passive  copulation  and  injured  modesty.  I  seem 
almost  like  a  prostitute.  Eeason  does  not  give  any  help  ; 
the  imperative  feeling  of  femininity  dominates  and  rules 
everything.  The  difficulty  in  carrying  on  one's  occupa- 
tion, under  such  circumstances,  is  easily  appreciated  ;  but 
it  is  possible  to  force  one's  self  to  it.  Of  course,  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  sit,  walk,  or  lie  down  ;  at  least,  any 
one  of  these  cannot  be  endured  long  ;  and  with  the 
constant  touch  of  the  trousers,  etc.,  it  is  unendurable. 

"  Marriage  then,  except  during  coitus,  where  the  man 
has  to  feel  himself  a  woman,  is  like  two  women  living 
together,  one  of  whom  regards  herself  as  in  the  mask  of 
a  man.  If  the  periodical  molimina  fail  to  occur,  then  come 
the  feelings  of  pregnancy  or  of  sexual  satiety,  which  a 
man  never  experiences,  but  which  take  possession  of  the 
whole  being,  just  as  the  feeling  of  feminity  does,  and  are 
repugnant  in  themselves  ;  and,  therefore,  I  gladly  welcome 
the  regular  molimina  again.  When  erotic  dreams  or  ideas 
occur,  I  see  myself  in  the  form  I  have  as  a  woman,  and 
see  erected  organs  presenting.  Since  the  anus  feels  fem- 
inine, it  would  not  be  hard  to  become  a  passive  pederast ; 
only  positive  religious  command  prevents  it,  as  all  other 
deterrent  ideas  would  be  overcome.  Since  such  conditions 
are  repugnant,  as  they  would  be  to  any  one,  I  have  a 
desire  to  be  sexless,  or  to  make  myself  sexless.     If  I  had 

20 


306  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

been  single,  I  should  long  ago  have  taken  leave  of  testes, 
scrotum  and  penis. 

"  Of  what  use  is  female  pleasure,  vv^hen  one  docs  not 
conceive  ?  What  good  comes  from  excitation  of  female 
love,  when  one  has  only  a  wife  for  gratification,  even 
though  copulation  is  felt  as  though  it  were  with  a  man  ? 
What  a  terrible  feeling  of  shame  is  caused  by  the  feminine 
perspiration  !  How  the  feeling  for  dress  and  ornament 
lowers  a  man  !  Even  in  his  changed  form,  even  when  he 
can  no  longer  recall  the  masculine  sexual  feeling,  he 
would  not  wish  to  be  forced  to  feel  like  a  woman.  He 
still  knows  very  well  that,  heretofore,  he  did  not  con- 
stantly feel  sexually  ;  that  he  was  merely  a  human  being 
uninfluenced  by  sex.  Now,  suddenly,  he  has  to  regard  his 
former  individuality  as  a  mask,  and  constantly  feel  like 
a  woman,  only  having  a  change  when,  every  four  weeks, 
he  has  his  periodical  sickness,  and  in  the  intervals  his 
insatiable  female  desire.  If  he  could  but  avv^ake  without 
immediately  being  forced  to  feel  like  a  woman  !  At  last 
he  longs  for  a  moment  in  which  he  might  raise  his  mask  ; 
but  that  moment  does  not  come.  He  can  only  find 
amelioration  of  his  misery  when  he  can  put  on  some  bit 
of  female  attire  or  finery,  an  under-garment,  etc.  ;  for  he 
dare  not  go  about  as  a  woman.  To  be  compe]led  to  fulfil 
all  the  duties  of  a  calling  with  the  feeling  of  being  a 
woman  costumed  as  a  man,  and  to  see  no  end  of  it,  is 
no  trifle.  Religion  alone  saves  from  a  great  lapse  ;  but  it 
does  not  prevent  the  pain  when  temptation  affects  the 
man  who  feels  as  a  woman  ;  and  so  it  must  be  felt  and 
endured  !  When  a  respectable  man  who  enjoys  an  un- 
usual degree  of  public  confidence,  and  possesses  authority, 
must  go  about  with  his  vulva — imaginary  though  it  be  ; 
when  one,  leaving  his  arduous  daily  task,  is  compelled 
to  examine  the  toilette  of  the  first  lady  he  meets,  and  criti- 
cise her  with  feminine  eyes,  and  read  her  thoughts  in  her 
face  ;  when  a  journal  of  fashions  possesses  an  interest 
equal  to  that  of  a  scientific  work  (I  felt  this  as  a  child)  ; 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH   SEXES.  307 

when  one  must  conceal  his  condition  from  his  wife,  whose 
thoughts,  the  moment  he  feels  hke  a  woman,  he  can  read 
in  her  face,  while  it  becomes  perfectly  clear  to  her  that 
he  has  changed  in  body  and  soul — what  must  all  this  be  ? 
The  misery  caused  by  the  feminine  gentleness  that  must 
be  overcome !  Oftentimes,  of  course,  when  I  am  away 
alone,  it  is  possible  to  live  for  a  time  more  Hke  a  woman  ; 
for  example,  to  wear  female  attire,  especially  at  night,  to 
keep  gloves  on,  or  to  wear  a  veil  or  a  mask  in  my  room, 
so  that  thus  there  is  rest  from  excessive  libido.  But  when 
the  feminine  feeling  has  once  gained  an  entrance,  it 
imperatively  demands  recognition.  It  is  often  satisfied 
with  a  moderate  concession,  such  as  the  wearing  of  a 
bracelet  above  the  cuff ;  but  it  imperatively  demands  some 
concession.  My  only  happiness  is  to  see  myself  dressed 
as  a  woman  without  a  feehng  of  shame ;  indeed,  when 
my  face  is  veiled  or  masked,  I  prefer  it  so,  and  thus  think 
of  myself.  Like  every  one  of  Fashion's  fools,  I  have  a 
taste  for  the  prevaiHng  mode,  so  greatly  am  I  trans- 
brmed.  To  become  accustomed  to  the  thought  of  feehng 
only  like  a  woman,  and  only  to  remember  the  previous 
manner  of  thought  to  a  certain  extent  in  contrast  with 
it,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  express  one's  self  as  a 
man,  requires  a  long  time  and  an  infinite  amount  of 
persistence. 

"  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  everything,  it  will  happen 
that  I  betray  myself  by  some  expression  of  feminine 
feehng,  either  in  sexualibus,  when  I  say  that  I  feel  so  and 
so,  expressing  what  a  man  without  the  female  feehng 
cannot  know  ;  or  when  I  accidentally  betray  that  female 
attire  is  my  talent.  Before  women,  of  course,  this  does 
not  amount  to  anything  ;  for  a  woman  is  greatly  flattered 
when  a  man  understands  something  of  her  matters  ;  but 
this  must  not  be  displayed  to  my  own  wife.  How  fright- 
ened I  once  was  when  my  wife  said  to  a  friend  that  I  had 
great  taste  in  ladies'  dress  !  How  a  haughty,  stylish  lady 
was  astonished  when,  as  she  was  about  to  make  a  great 


308  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

error  in  the  education  of  her  httle  daughter,  I  described 
to  her  in  writing  and  verbally  all  the  feminine  feelings  ! 
To  be  sure,  I  hed  to  her,  saying  that  my  knowledge  had 
been  gleaned  from  letters.  But  her  confidence  in  me  is 
as  great  as  ever ;  and  the  child,  who  was  on  the  road  to 
insanity,  is  rational  and  happy.  She  had  confessed  all  the 
feminine  inclinations  as  sins  ;  now  she  knows  what,  as  a 
girl,  she  must  bear  and  control  by  will  and  religion  ;  and 
she  feels  that  she  is  human.  Both  ladies  would  laugh 
heartily  if  they  knew  that  I  had  only  drawn  on  my  own 
sad  experience.  I  must  also  add  that  I  now  have  a  finer 
sense  of  temperature  and,  besides,  a  sense  of  the  elasticity 
of  the  skin  and  tension  of  the  intestines,  etc.,  in  patients, 
that  was  unknown  to  me  before  ;  that  in  operations  and 
autopsies,  poisonous  fluids  more  readily  penetrate  my 
(uninjured)  skin.  Every  autopsy  causes  me  pain ;  examina- 
tion of  a  prostitute,  or  a  woman  having  a  discharge,  a 
cancerous  odour,  or  the  like,  is  actually  repugnant  to  me. 
In  all  respects  I  am  now  under  the  influence  of  antipathy 
and  sympathy,  from  the  sense  of  colour  to  my  judgment  of 
a  person.  Women  usually  see  in  each  other  the  periodical 
sexual  disposition  ;  and,  therefore,  a  lady  wears  a  veil,  if 
she  is  not  always  accustomed  to  wear  one,  and  usually 
she  perfumes  herself,  even  though  it  be  only  with  handker- 
chief or  gloves  ;  for  her  olfactory  sense  in  relation  to  her 
own  sex  is  intense.  Odours  have  an  incredible  effect  on 
the  female  organism  ;  thus,  for  example,  the  odours  of 
violets  and  roses  quiet  me,  while  others  disgust  me  ;  and 
with  Ylang-Ylang  I  cannot  contain  myself  for  sexual 
excitement.  Contact  with  a  woman  seems  homogeneous 
to  me  ;  coitus  with  my  wife  seems  possible  to  me  because 
she  is  somewhat  masculine,  and  has  a  firm  skin  ;  and  yet 
it  is  more  an  amor  lesbicus. 

"  Besides,  I  always  feel  passive.  Often  at  night,  when 
I  cannot  sleep  for  excitement,  it  is  finally  accomplished, 
si  femora  mea  distensa  habeo,  sicuti  mulier  cum  viro  con- 
cumbens,  or  if  I  lie  on  my  side  ;  but  an  arm  or  the  bed- 


•  HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH   SEXES.  309 

clothing  must  not  touch  the  mamma,  or  there  is  no 
sleep ;  and  there  must  be  no  pressure  on  the  abdomen. 
I  sleep  best  in  a  chemise  and  night-robe,  and  with  gloves 
on  ;  for  my  hands  easily  get  cold.  I  am  also  comfortable 
in  female  drawers  and  petticoats,  because  they  do  not 
touch  the  genitals.  I  liked  female  dresses  best  when 
crinolines  were  worn.  Female  dresses  do  not  annoy  the 
feminine-feeling  man  ;  for  he,  like  every  woman,  feels 
them  as  belonging  to  his  person,  and  not  as  something 
foreign. 

"  My  dearest  associate  is  a  lady  suffering  with  neuras- 
thenia, who,  since  her  last  confinement,  feels  like  a  man, 
but  who,  since  I  explained  these  feelings  to  her,  coitu 
abstinet  as  much  as  possible,  a  thing  I,  as  a  husband,  dare 
not  do.  She,  by  her  example,  helps  me  to  endure  my 
condition.  She  has  a  most  perfect  memory  of  the  female 
feelings,  and  has  often  given  me  good  advice.  Were  she 
a  man  and  I  a  young  girl  I  should  seek  to  win  her ;  for 
her  I  should  be  glad  to  endure  the  fate  of  a  woman.  But 
her  present  appearance  is  quite  different  from  what  it 
formerly  was.  She  is  a  very  elegantly  dressed  gentleman, 
notwithstanding  bosom  and  hair  ;  she  also  speaks  quickly 
and  concisely,  and  no  longer  takes  pleasure  in  the  things 
that  please  me.  She  has  a  kind  of  melancholy  dissatis- 
faction with  the  world,  but  she  bears  her  fate  worthily 
and  with  resignation,  finding  her  comfort  only  in  religion 
and  the  fulfilment  of  duty.  At  the  time  of  the  menses, 
she  almost  dies.  She  no  longer  likes  female  society  and 
conversation,  and  has  no  liking  for  delicacies. 

"  A  youthful  friend  felt  like  a  girl  from  the  very  first, 
and  had  incHnations  towards  the  male  sex.  His  sister 
had  the  opposite  condition  ;  and  when  the  uterus  de- 
manded its  right,  and  she  saw  herself  as  a  loving  woman 
in  spite  of  her  masculinity,  she  cut  the  matter  short,  and 
committed  suicide  by  drowning. 

"  Since  complete  effemination,  the  principal  changes  I 
have  observed  in  myself  are  : — 


310  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

"1.  The  constant  feeling  of  being  a  woman  from  top 
to  toe. 

"  2.  The  constant  feehng  of  having  female  genitals. 

*'  3.  The  periodicity  of  the  monthly  molimina. 

"  4.  The  regular  occurrence  of  female  desire,  though 
not  directed  to  any  particular  man. 

"5.  The  passive  female  feeling  in  coitus. 

"  6.  After  that,  the  feeling  of  impregnation. 

"  7.  The  female  feehng  in  thought  of  coitus. 

"8.  At  the  sight  of  women,  the  feeling  of  being  of  their 
kind,  and  the  feminine  interest  in  them. 

"9.  At  the  sight  of  men,  the  feminine  interest  in  them. 

"  10.  At  the  sight  of  children,  the  same  feeling. 

"  11.  The  changed  disposition  and  much  greater 
patience. 

"12.  The  final  resignation  to  my  fate,  for  which  I  have 
nothing  to  thank  but  positive  religion  ;  without  it  I  should 
have  long  ago  committed  suicide. 

"  To  be  a  man  and  to  be  compelled  to  feel  that 
chaque  fcmme  est  future  ou  elle  desire  d'etre  is  hard  to 
endure." 

The  foregoing  autobiography,  scientifically  so  import- 
ant, was  accompanied  by  the  following  no  less  interesting 
letter  : — 

"  Sm, — I  must  next  beg  your  indulgence  for  troubling 
you  with  my  communication.  I  lost  all  control,  and 
thought  of  myself  only  as  a  monster  before  which  I  myself 
shuddered.  Then  your  work  gave  me  courage  again  ;  and 
I  determined  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  matter,  and 
examine  my  past  life,  let  the  result  be  what  it  might.  It 
seemed  a  duty  of  gratitude  to  you  to  tell  you  the  result  of 
my  recollection  and  observation,  since  I  had  not  seen  any 
description  by  you  of  an  analogous  case  ;  and,  finally,  I 
also  thought  it  might  perhaps  interest  you  to  learn,  from 
the  pen  of  a  physician,  how  such  a  worthless  human,  or 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING    IN   BOTH   SEXES.  311 

masculine,  being  thinks  and  feels  under  the  weight  of  the 
imperative  idea  of  being  a  woman. 

"  It  is  not  perfect  ;  but  I  no  longer  have  the  strength 
to  reflect  more  upon  it,  and  have  no  desire  to  go  into 
the  matter  more  deeply.  Much  is  repeated  ;  but  I  beg 
you  to  remember  that  any  mask  may  be  allowed  to  fall  off, 
particularly  when  it  is  not  voluntarily  worn,  but  enforced. 

"After  reading  your  work,  I  hope  that,  if  I  fulfil 
my  duties  as  physician,  citizen,  father  and  husband,  I 
may  still  count  myself  among  human  beings  who  do  not 
deserve  merely  to  be  despised. 

"  Finally,  I  washed  to  lay  the  result  of  my  recollection 
and  reflection  before  you,  in  order  to  show  that  one  think- 
ing and  feehng  hke  a  woman  can  still  be  a  physician.  I 
consider  it  a  great  injustice  to  debar  woman  from  Medi- 
cine. A  woman,  through  her  feehng,  gets  on  the  track  of 
many  ailments  which,  in  spite  of  all  skill  in  diagnosis, 
remain  obscure  to  a  man ;  at  least,  in  the  diseases  of  women 
and  children.  If  I  could  have  my  way,  I  should  have 
every  physician  Hve  the  Hfe  of  a  woman  for  three  months  ; 
then  he  would  have  a  better  understanding  and  more  con- 
sideration in  matters  affecting  the  half  of  humanity  from 
which  he  comes  ;  then  he  would  learn  to  value  the  great- 
ness of  woman,  and  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  her  lot." 

BemarJcs :  The  badly  tainted  patient  is  originally  psycho- 
sexually  abnormal,  in  that,  in  character  and  in  the  sexual 
act,  he  feels  as  a  female.  This  abnormal  feehng  remained 
purely  a  psychical  anomally  until  three  years  ago,  when, 
owing  to  severe  neurasthenia,  it  received  overmastering 
support  in  imperative  bodily  sensations  of  a  transmutatio 
sexus,  which  now  dominate  consciousness.  Then,  to  the 
patient's  horror,  he  felt  bodily  like  a  woman  ;  and,  under 
the  impulse  of  his  imperative  feminine  sensations,  he  ex- 
perienced a  complete,  transformation  of  his  former  mascu- 
hne  feeling,  thought  and  will ;  in  fact,  of  his  whole  vita 
sexualis,  in  the  sense  of  eviration.  At  the  same  time,  his 
"ego"  is  able  to  control  these  abnormal  psycho-physical 


312  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

manifestations,  and  prevent  descent  to  paranoia,  —  a 
remarkable  example  of  imperative  feelings  and  ideas  on  the 
basis  of  neurotic  taint,  which  is  of  great  value  for  a  com- 
prehension of  the  manner  in  v^hich  the  pyscho-sexual 
transformation  may  be  accomphshed.  In  1893,  three 
years  later,  this  unhappy  colleague  sent  me  a  new  account 
of  his  present  state.  This  corresponds  essentially  with  the 
former.  His  physical  and  psychical  feelings  are  absolutely 
those  of  a  woman  ;  but  his  intellectual  powers  are  intact,  • 
and  he  is  thus  saved  from  paranoia  (vide  infra). 

A  counterpart  to  this  case,  which  is  of  clinical  and 
psychological  moment,  is  that  of  a  lady  as  given  in  : — 

Case  109.  Mrs.  X.,  daughter  of  a  high  official.  -Her 
mother  died  from  nervous  disease.  The  father  was  un- 
tainted, and  died  from  pneumonia  at  a  good  old  age.  Her 
brothers  and  sisters  had  inferior  psychopathic  dispositions ; 
one  brother  was  of  abnormal  character,  and  very  neuras- 
thenic. 

As  a  girl  Mrs.  X.  had  decided  inchnations  for  boys 
sports.  So  long  as  she  wore  short  dresses  she  used  to  rove 
•  about  the  fields  and  woods  in  the  freest  manner,  and 
climbed  the  most  dangerous  rocks  and  cliffs.  She  had  no 
taste  for  dresses  and  finery.  Once,  when  they  gave  her  a 
dress  made  in  boys'  fashion,  she  was  highly  dehghted  ; 
and  when  at  school  they  dressed  her  up  in  boy's  clothes 
on  the  occasion  of  some  theatrical  performance  she  was 
filled  with  bHss. 

Otherwise  nothing  betrayed  her  homo-sexual  inclina- 
tions. Up  to  her  marriage  (at  the  age  of  twenty-one)  she 
cannot  call  to  mind  a  single  instance  in  which  she  felt  her- 
self drawn  to  persons  of  her  own  sex.  Men  were  equally 
indifferent  to  her.  When  matured  she  had  many  admirers. 
This  flattered  her  greatly.  However,  she  claims  that  the 
difference  of  the  sexes  never  entered  her  mind  ;  she  was 
only  influenced  by  the  difference  in  the  dress. 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN    BOTH    SEXES.  318 

When  attending  the  first  and  only  ball  she  felt  interest 
only  in  intellectual  conversation,  but  not  in  dancing  or  the 
dancers. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  the  menses  set  in  without  diffi- 
culty. She  always  looked  upon  riienstruation  as  an 
unnecessary  and  bothersome  function.  Her  engagement 
with  a  man  who,  though  good  and  rich,  yet  possessed  not 
the  slightest  knowledge  of  woman's  nature,  was  a  matter 
of  utter  indifference  to  her.  She  had  neither  sympathy  for 
nor  antipathy  against  matrimony.  Her  connubial  duties 
were  at  first  painful  to  her,  later  on  simply  loathsome. 
She  never  experienced  sensual  pleasure,  but  became  the 
mother  of  six  children.  When  her  husband  began  to 
observe  coitus  intemi'ptus,  on  account  of  the  prolific  conse- 
quences, her  religious  and  moral  sentiments  were  hurt. 
Mrs.  X.  grew  more  and  more  neurasthenic,  peevish  and 
unhappy. 

She  suffered  from  descensus  uteri,  erosions  on  the  portio 
vaginalis,  and  became  anaemic.  Gynecological  treatment 
and  visits  to  watering-places  procured  but  slight  improve- 
ments. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-six  she  had  an  apoplectic  stroke, 
which  confined  her  to  bed  for  two  years,  with  heavy 
neurasthenic  ailments  (agrypnia,  pressure  in  the  head, 
palpitation  of  the  heart,  psychical  depression,  feelings  of 
lost  physical  and  mental  power,  bordering  even  on  in- 
sanity, etc.).  During  this  long  illness  a  pecuHar  change 
of  her  psychical  and  physical  feelings  took  place. 

The  small  talk  of  the  ladies  visiting  her  about  love, 
toilet,  finery,  fashions,  domestic  and  servants'  affairs  dis- 
gusted her.  She  felt  mortified  at  being  a  woman.  She 
could  not  even  make  up  her  mind  again  to  look  in  the 
mirror.  She  loathed  combing  her  hair  and  making  her 
toilet.  Much  to  the  surprise  of  her  own  people  her  hitherto 
soft  and  decidedly  feminine  features  assumed  a  strongly 
masculine  character,  so  much  so  that  she  gave  the 
impression  of  being  a  man  clad  in  female   garb.      She 


314  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

complained  to  her  trusted  physician  that  her  periods 
had  stopped, — in  fact,  she  had  nothing  to  do  with  such 
functions.  When  they  recurred  again  she  felt  ill-tempered, 
and  found  the  odour  of  the  menstual  flow  most  nauseating, 
but  definitely  refused  the  use  of  perfumes,  which  affected 
her  in  a  similar  unpleasant  manner. 

But  in  other  ways  she  felt  that  a  peculiar  change  had 
come  over  her  entire  being.  She  had  athletic  spells,  and 
great  desire  for  gymnastic  exercises.  At  times  she  felt  as 
if  she  were  just  twenty.  She  was  startled, — when  her 
aeurasthenic  brain  allowed  of  thought  at  all, — at  the  flight 
and  novelty  of  her  thoughts,  at  her  quick  and  precise 
method  of  arriving  at  conclusions  and  forming  opinions, 
at  the  curt  and  short  way  of  expressing  herself,  and  her 
novel  choice  of  words  not  always  becoming  a  lady.  Even 
an  inclination  to  use  curse  words  and  oaths  were  noticeable 
in  this  otherwise  so  pious  and  correct  woman. 

She  reproached  herself  bitterly,  and  grieved  because 
she  had  lost  her  feminity,  and  scandalised  her  friends  by 
her  thoughts,  sentiments,  and  actions. 

She  also  perceived  a  change  in  her  body.  She  was 
horrified  to  notice  her  breasts  disappearing,  that  her 
pelvis  grew  smaller  and  narrower,  the  bones  became 
more  massive,  and  her  skin  rougher  and  harder. 

She  refused  to  wear  any  more  a  lady's  night-dress  or  a 
lady's  cap,  and  put  away  her  bracelets,  earrings  and  fans. 
Her  maid  and  her  dressmaker  noticed  a  different  odour 
coming  from  her  person  ;  her  voice  also  grew  deeper, 
rougher  and  quite  masculine. 

When  the  patient  was  finally  able  to  leave  her  bed,  the 
female  gait  had  altered,  feminine  gestures  and  movements 
in  her  female  attire  were  forced,  and  she  could  no  longer 
bear  to  wear  a  veil  over  her  face.  Her  former  period  of 
life  spent  as  a  woman  seemed  strange  to  her,  as  if  it  did 
not  belong  to  her  existence  at  all ;  she  could  play  no  longer 
the  role  of  woman.  She  assumed  more  and  more  the 
character  of  a  man.     She  experienced  strange  feelings  in 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING    IN    BOTH    SEXES.  315 

her  abdomen  ;  and  complained  to  the  physician  attending 
her  that  she  could  feel  no  longer  the  internal  organs  of 
generation,  that  her  body  was  closed  up,  the  region  of  her 
genitals  enlarged,  and  often  had  the  sensation  of  possessing 
a  penis  and  scrotum.  She  showed,  also,  unmistakable 
symptoms  of  male  libido.  All  these  observations  affected 
her  deeply,  filled  her  with  horror,  and  depressed  her  so 
much  that  an  attack  of  insanity  was  apprehended.  But 
by  incessant  efforts  and  kind  advice  the  family  physician 
finally  succeeded  in  calming  the  patient  and  piloting  her 
safely  over  this  dangerous  point.  Little  by  little  she  gained 
her  equilibrium  in  this  novel,  strange  and  morbid  physico- 
psychical  form.  She  took  pains  in  performing  her  duties 
as  housewife  and  mother.  It  was  interesting  to  observe 
the  truly  manly  firmness  of  will  which  she  developed,  but 
her  former  softness  of  character  had  vanished.  She 
assumed  the  role  of  the  man  in  her  house,  a  circumstance 
which  led  to  many  dissensions  and  misunderstandings.  She 
became  an  enigma  which  her  husband  was  unable  to  solve. 

She  complained  to  her  physician  that  at  times  a 
'*  bestial  masculine  libido  "  threatened  to  overcome  her, 
which  made  her  despondent.  Marital  intercourse  with 
the  husband  appeared  to  her  most  repulsive  —  in  fact, 
impossible.  Periodically  the  patient  experienced  feminine 
emotions,  but  they  became  scarcer  and  weaker  as  time 
went  by.  At  such  periods  she  became  conscious  again  of 
her  female  genitals  and  breasts,  but  these  episodes  affected 
her  painfully,  and  she  felt  that  such  a  "  second  trans- 
mutation "  would  be  unbearable,  and  would  drive  her  to 
insanity. 

Now  she  has  become  reconciled  to  her  transmutatio 
sexus,  brought  about  by  her  severe  illness,  and  bears  her 
fate  with  resignation,  finding  much  support  in  her  religious 
convictions. 

What  affects  her  most  keenly  is  the  fact  tiiat,  like  an 
actress,  she  must  move  in  a  strange  spliere — i.e.,  in  tliat 
of  a  woman  ("  Status  Prnnsens,"  Sept.,  LS92).' 


316  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

TV.  Degree  :  Metamorphosis  Sexualis  Paranoica. 

A  final  possible  stage  in  this  disease-process  is  the 
delusion  of  a  transformation  of  sex.  It  arises  on  the  basis 
of  sexual  neurasthenia  that  has  developed  into  neuras- 
thenia universalis,  resulting  in  a  mental  disease, — paranoia. 

The  following  cases  show  the  development  of  the 
interesting  neuro-psychological  process  to  its  height : — 

Case  110.  K.,  aged  thirty-six,  male,  single,  servant, 
received  at  the  chnic  on  26th  February,  1889,  is  a  tjrpical 
case  of  paranoica  persecutoria,  resulting  from  neurasthenia 
sexualis,  with  olfactory  hallucinations,  sensations,  etc. 

He  comes  of  a  predisposed  family.  Several  brothers 
and  sisters  were  psychopathic.  Patient  has  a  hydro- 
cephalic skull,  depressed  in  the  region  of  the  right  fon- 
tanelle  ;  eyes  neuropathic.  He  has  always  been  very 
sensual ;  began  to  masturbate  at  nineteen  ;  had  coitus  at 
twenty-three  ;  begat  three  illegitimate  children.  He  gave 
up  further  sexual  intercourse  on  account  of  fear  of 
begetting  more  children,  and  of  being  unable  to  provide 
for  them.  Abstinence  proved  very  painful  to  him.  He 
also  gave  up  masturbation,  and  was  then  troubled  with 
pollutions.  A  year  and  a  half  ago  he  became  sexually 
neurasthenic,  had  diurnal  pollutions,  became  thereafter  ill 
and  miserable,  and,  after  a  time,  generally  neurasthenic, 
finally  developing  paranoia. 

A  year  ago  he  began  to  have  parsesthetic  sensations, — 
as  if  there  were  a  great  coil  in  the  place  of  his  genitals  ; 
and  then  he  felt  that  his  scrotum  and  penis  were  gone, 
and  that  his  genitals  were  changed  into  those  of  a  female. 

He  felt  the  growth  of  his  breasts ;  that  his  hair  was 
that  of  a  woman  ;  and  that  feminine  garments  were  on  his 
body.  He  thought  himself  a  woman.  The  people  in  the 
street  gave  utterance  to  corresponding  remarks  :  "  Look 
at  the  woman  !  The  old  blowhard  !  "  In  a  half-dreamy 
state,  he  had  the  feeling  as  if  he  played  the  part  of  a 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING   IN   BOTH    SEXES.  317 

woman  in  coitus  with  a  man,  which  caused  him  the  most 
lively  feelings  of  pleasure.  During  his  stay  at  the  clinic, 
a  remission  of  the  paranoia  occurred,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  a  marked  improvement  of  the  neurasthenia.  Then 
the  feelings  and  ideas  due  to  a  developing  metamorphosis 
sexualis  disappeared. 

A  more  advanced  case  of  eviration,  on  the  way  to  a 

transformatio  sexus  paranoica,  is  the  following  : — 

Case  111.  Franz  St.,  aged  thirty-three;  school- 
teacher ,  single  ;  probably  of  tainted  family  ;  always 
neuropathic;  emotional,  timid,  intolerant  of  alcohol ;  began 
to  masturbate  at  eighteen.  At  thirty  there  were  mani- 
festations of  neurasthenia  sexualis  (pollutions  with  conse- 
quent fatigue,  soon  beginning  to  occur  during  the  day  ; 
pain  in  the  region  of  the  sacral  plexus,  etc.).  Gradually, 
spinal  irritation,  pressure  in  the  head,  and  cerebral  neuras- 
thenia were  added.  Since  the  beginning  of  1885  the 
patient  had  given  up  coitus,  in  which  he  no  longer  experi- 
enced pleasurable  feeling.     He  masturbated  frequently. 

In  1888  he  began  to  have  delusions  of  suspicion.  He 
noticed  that  he  was  avoided,  and  that  he  had  unpleasant 
odours  about  him  (olfactory  hallucinations).  In  this  way 
he  explained  the  altered  attitude  of  people,  and  their 
sneezing,  coughing,  etc. 

He  could  smell  corpses  and  foul  urine.  He  recognised 
the  cause  of  his  bad  smells  in  inward  pollutions.  He 
recognised  these  in  a  feeling  he  had  as  if  a  fluid  flowed 
up  from  the  symphysis  toward  the  breast.  Patient  soon 
left  the  clinic. 

In  1889  he  was  again  received  in  an  advanced  stage  of 
paranoia  masturbatoria  persecutoria  (delusions  of  physical 
persecution). 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  1889,  the  patient  attracted 
notice,  in  that  he  was  cross  when  he  was  addressed  as 
**  mister ".      He  protested   against  it  because  he  was  a 


318  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

woman.  Voices  told  him  this.  He  noticed  that  his 
breasts  were  growing.  Some  weeks  before,  others  had 
touched  him  in  a  sensual  manner.  He  heard  it  said  that 
he  was  a  whore.  Of  late,  dreams  of  pregnancy.  He 
dreamed  that,  as  a  woman,  he  indulged  in  coitus.  He  felt 
the  immissio  penis,  and,  during  the  hallucinatory  act,  also 
a  feeling  of  ejaculation. 

Head  straight  ;  facial  form  long  and  narrow  ;  parietal 
eminences  prominent ;  genitals  normally  developed. 

The  following  case,  observed  in  the  asylum  at  Illenau, 
is  a  pertinent  example  of  lasting  delusional  alteration  of 
sexual  consciousness  : — 

Case  112.  Metamorphosis  sexualis  paranoica.  N.,  aged 
twenty-three,  single,  pianist,  was  received  in  the  asylum 
at  Illenau  in  the  last  part  of  October,  1S65.  He  came  of 
a  family  in  which  there  was  said  to  be  no  hereditary  taint ; 
but  there  was  phthisis  (father  and  brother  died  of  pul- 
monary tuberculosis).  Patient,  as  a  child,  was  weakly  and 
dull,  though  especially  talented  in  music.  He  was  always 
of  abnormal  character  ;  silent,  retiring,  unsocial,  and 
sullen.  He  practised  masturbation  after  fifteen.  After  a 
few  years  neurasthenic  symptoms  (palpitation  of  the  heart, 
lassitude,  occasional  pressure  in  the  head,  etc.)  and  also 
hypochondriacal  symptoms  were  manifested.  During  the 
last  year  he  had  worked  with  great  difficulty.  For  about 
six  months  neurasthenia  had  increased.  He  complained 
of  palpitation  of  the  heart,  pressure  in  the  head  and 
sleeplessness;  was  very  irritable,  and  seemed  to  be  sexually 
excited.  He  declared  that  he  must  marry  for  his  health. 
He  fell  in  love  with  an  artiste,  but  almost  at  the  same 
time  (September,  1865)  he  fell  ill  with  paranoia  perse- 
cutoria  (ideas  of  enemies,  derision  in  the  street,  poison  in 
food  ;  obstacles  were  placed  on  the  bridge  to  keep  him 
from  going  to  his  inamorata).  On  account  of  increasing 
excitement  and  conflicts  with  those  about  him  that  he 


HOMO-SEXUAL    FEELING   IN   BOTH    SEXES.  319 

considered  inimical  to  him  he  -was  taken  to  the  asylum. 
At  first  he  presented  the  picture  of  a  typical  paranoia 
'pcrsecxitoria  with  symptoms  of  sexual,  and  later  general, 
neurasthenia,  though  the  delusions  of  persecution  did 
not  rest  upon  this  neurotic  foundation.  It  was  only 
occasionally  that  the  patient  heard  such  sentences  as 
this :  "  Now  the  semen  will  be  drawn  from  him.  Now 
the  bladder  will  be  cut  out." 

In  the  course  of  the  years  1866-68,  the  delusions  of 
persecution  became  less  and  less  apparent,  and  were  for 
the  most  part  replaced  by  erotic  ideas.  The  somatic  and 
mental  basis  was  a  lasting  and  powerful  excitation  of  the 
sexual  sphere.  The  patient  fell  in  love  with  every  woman 
he  saw,  heard  voices  which  told  him  to  approach  her,  and 
beg  to  be  allowed  to  marry,  declaring  that,  if  he  were 
not  given  a  wife,  he  would  waste  away.  With  continu- 
ance of  masturbation,  in  1869,  signs  of  future  effemination 
made  themselves  manifest.  "  He  would,  if  he  should  get 
a  wife,  love  her  only  platonically."  The  patient  grows 
more  and  more  peculiar,  lives  in  a  circle  of  erotic  ideas, 
sees  prostitution  practised  in  the  asylum,  and  now  and 
then  hears  voices  which  impute  immoral  conduct  with 
women  to  him.  For  this  reason  he  avoids  the  society  of 
women,  and  only  associates  with  them  for  the  sake  of 
music  when  two  witnesses  are  with  him. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1872,  the  neurastlicnic 
condition  became  markedly  increased.  Now  paranoia  jjcr- 
secutoria  again  comes  into  the  foreground,  and  takes  on 
a  clinical  colouring  from  the  neurotic  basis.  Olfactory 
hallucinations  occur.  Magnetic  influences  are  at  work  on 
him — "  magnetic  waves  produced  by  striking  an  anvil '' 
(false  interpretation  of  sensations  due  to  spinal  asthenia). 
With  continued  and  intense  sexual  excitement  and  excess 
in  masturbation,  the  process  of  effemination  constantly 
progresses.  Only  episodically  is  he  a  man  and  inclined 
toward  a  woman,  complaining  that  the  shameless  prosti- 
tution of  the  men  in  the  house  makes  it  impossible  for  a 


320  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

lady  to  come  to  him.  He  is  dying  of  magnetically  poisoned 
air  and  unsatisfied  love.  Without  love  he  cannot  live. 
He  is  poisoned  by  lewd  poison  that  affects  his  sexual 
desire.  The  lady  that  he  loves  is  surrounded  here  by  the 
lowest  vice.  The  prostitutes  in  the  house  have  fortune- 
chains  ;  that  is,  chains  in  which,  without  moving,  a  man 
can  indulge  in  lustful  pleasure.  He  is  ready  now  to  satisfy 
himself  with  prostitutes.  He  is  possessed  of  a  wonderful 
ray  of  thought  that  emanates  from  his  eyes,  which  is 
worth  20,000,000.  His  compositions  are  worth  500,000 
francs.  With  these  indications  of  delusions  of  grandeur, 
there  are  also  those  of  persecution — the  food  is  poisoned  by 
venereal  excrements ;  he  tastes  and  smells  poison,  hears  in- 
famous accusations,  and  asks  for  appHances  to  close  his  ears. 
From  August,  1872,  however,  the  signs  of  effemination 
become  more  and  more  frequent.  He  acts  somewhat 
affectedly,  declaring  that  he  can  no  longer  live  among  men 
that  drink  and  smoke.  He  thinks  and  feels  like  a  woman. 
He  must  thenceforth  be  treated  hke  a  woman  and  trans- 
ferred to  a  female  ward.  He  asks  for  confections  and 
dehcate  desserts.  Occasionally,  on  account  of  tenesmus 
and  cystospasm,  he  asks  to  be  transferred  to  a  lying-in 
hospital  and  treated  as  a  woman  very  ill  in  pregnancy. 
The  abnormal  magnetism  of  masculine  attendants  has  an 
unfavourable  effect  on  him. 

At  times  he  still  feels  himself  to  be  a  man,  but  in  a 
way  which  indicates  his  abnormally  altered  sexual  feeling. 
He  pleads  only  for  satisfaction  by  means  of  masturbation, 
or  for  marriage  without  coitus.  Marriage  is  a  sensual 
institution.  The  girl  that  he  would  take  for  a  wife  must 
be  a  masturbator. 

About  the  end  of  December,  1872,  his  personality 
became  completely  feminine.  From  that  time  he  remained 
a  woman.  He  had  always  been  a  woman,  but  in  his 
babyhood  a  French  Quaker,  an  artist,  had  put  masculine 
genitals  on  him,  and  by  rubbing  and  distorting  his  thorax 
had  prevented  the  development  of  his  breasts. 


HOMO-SEXUAL   FEELING   IN   BOTH    SEXES.  321 

After  this  he  demanded  to  be  transferred  to  the  female 
department,  protection  from  men  that  wished  to  violate 
him,  and  asked  for  female  clothing.  Eventually  he  also 
desired  to  be  given  employment  in  a  toy  -  shop,  with 
crocheting  and  embroidery  work  to  do,  or  a  place  in  a 
dressmaking  establishment  with  female  work.  From  the 
time  of  the  transformatio  sexus,  the  patient  begins  a  new 
reckoning  of  time.  He  conceives  his  previous  personality 
in  memory  as  that  of  a  cousin. 

He  always  speaks  of  himself  in  the  third  person,  and 
calls  himself  the  Countess  V.,  the  dearest  friend  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie  ;  asks  for  perfumes,  corsets,  etc.  He 
takes  the  other  men  of  the  ward  for  girls,  tries  to  raise  a 
head  of  hair,  and  demands  "Oriental  Hair  -  Kemover," 
in  order  that  no  one  may  doubt  his  gender.  He  takes 
delight  in  praising  onanism,  for  "  she  had  been  an  onanist 
from  fifteen,  and  had  never  desired  any  other  kind  of 
sexual  satisfaction  ".  Occasionally  neurasthenic  symptoms 
olfactory  hallucinations,  and  persecutory  delusions  are 
observed.  All  the  events  up  to  the  time  of  December, 
1872,  belong  to  the  personality  of  the  cousin. 

The  patient's  delusion  that  he  is  the  Countess  V.  can 
no  longer  be  corrected.  She  proves  her  identity  by  the 
fact  that  the  nurse  has  examined  her,  and  finds  her  to  be 
a  lady.  The  countess  will  not  marry,  because  she  hates 
men.  Since  he  is  not  provided  with  female  clothing  and 
shoes,  he  spends  the  greatest  part  of  the  day  in  bed,  acts 
like  an  invahd  lady  of  position,  affectedly  and  modestly, 
and  asks  for  bon-bons  and  the  like.  His  hair  is  done  up 
in  a  knot  as  well  as  it  allows,  and  the  beard  is  pulled  out. 
Breasts  are  made  out  of  rolls  of  bread. 

In  1874  caries  began  in  the  left  knee-joint,  to  which 
pulmonary  tuberculosis  was  soon  added.  Death  on  2nd 
December,  1874.  Skull  normal.  Frontal  lobes  atrophic. 
Brain  anaemic.  Microscopical  (Dr.  Schille).  In  the  superior 
layer  of  the  frontal  lobe,  ganglion  cells  somewhat  shrunken; 
in  the  adventitia  of  the  vessels,  numerous  fat-corpuscles  ; 

21 


322  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

glia  unchanged  ;  isolated  pigment  particles  and  colloid 
bodies.  The  lower  layers  of  the  cortex  normal.  Genitals 
very  large  ;  testicles  small,  lax,  and  show  no  change 
macroscopically  on  section. 

The  delusion  of  sexual  transformation,  displayed  in  its 
conditions  and  phases  of  development  in  the  foregoing 
case,  is  a  manifestation  remarkably  infrequent  in  the 
pathology  of  the  human  mind.  Besides  the  foregoing 
cases,  personally  observed,  I  have  seen  such  a  case,  as  an 
episodical  phenomenon,  in  a  lady  having  sexual  inversion 
(case  118,  of  the  seventh  edition  of  this  work),  one  in  a  girl 
affected  with  original  paranoia,  and  another  in  a  lady 
suffering  with  origiiial  paranoia. 

Save  for  a  case  briefly  reported  by  Arndt  ^  in  his  text- 
book, and  one  quite  superficially  described  by  S&icux 
("  Eecherches  Clinique,"  p.  33),  and  the  two  cases  known 
to  Esquirol,'^  1  cannot  recall  any  cases  of  delusion  of  sexual 
transformation  in  literature. 

I  have  already  mentioned  on  page  289  the  interesting 
relations  existing  between  the  facts  of  delusional  trans- 
formation of  sex  and  the  so-called  insanity  of  the  Scythians. 

Maratidon  ("  Annales  medico-psychologiques,"  1877,  p. 
161),  like  others,  has  erroneously  presumed  that  with  the 
ancient  Scythians  there  was  an  actual  delusion,  and  that 
the  condition  was  not  merely  that  of  eviration.  According 
to  the  law  of  empirical  actuahty,  the  delusion,  so  infrequent 
to-day,  must  also  have  been  very  infrequent  in  ancient 
times.  Since  it  can  only  be  conceived  as  arising  on  the 
basis  of  a  paranoia,  there  can  be  no  thought  of  its  endemic 
occurrence  ;  it  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  superstitious 
manifestation  of  eviration  (the  result  of  anger  of  the 
goddess),  as  is  also  evident  from  the  statements  of  Hippo- 
crates. 

1  An  abstract  of  this  may  be  found  in  case  103  of  the  ninth  edition  of 
this  book. 

-  Cf.  ibid.,  cases  104  and  105. 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNORMAL  MANIFESTATION.    323 

The  facts  of  the  so-called  Scythian  insanity,  as  well  as 
the  facts  lately  learned  about  the  Pueblo  Indians,  are  also 
worthy  of  note  anthropologically,  in  so  far  as  atrophy  of 
the  testes  and  genitals  in  general,  and  approximation  to 
the  female  type,  physically  and  mentally,  were  observed. 
This  is  the  more  remarkable,  since,  in  men  who  have  lost 
their  procreative  organs,  such  a  reversal  of  instinct  is  quite 
as  unusual  as  in  women,  mutatis  mutandis,  after  the  natural 
or  artificial  climacteric. 


B.  Homo-Sexual  Feeling  as  an  Abnormal  Congenital 
Manifestation.^ 

The  essential  feature  of  this  strange  manifestation  of 
the  sexual  life  is  the  want  of  sexual  sensibility  for  the 
opposite  sex,  even  to  the  extent  of  horror,  while  sexual 
inclination  and  impulse  toward  the  same  sex  arc  present. 
At  the  same  time,  the  genitals  are  normally  developed,  the 
sexual  glands  perform  their  functions  properly,  and  the 
sexual  type  is  completely  differentiated. 

^  Bibliography  (besides  works  mentioned  hereafter)  :  Tardieu,  "  Des 
attentats  aux  moeurs,"  7  6dit.,  1878,  p.  210.  Hofmann,  "  Lehrb.  d.  ger. 
Med.,"  6  Aufl.,  pp.  170,  887.  Gley,  "Revue  philosophique,"  1884,  No. 
1.  Magnan,  "  Annal.  med.-psychol.,"  1885,  p.  458.  Sliaw  and  Ferris, 
"  Journal  of  Nervous  and  Mental  Diseases,"  1883,  April,  No.  2.  Dernhardi, 
"  Der  Uranismus,"  Berlin  (Volksbuchhandlung),  18852.  Chevalier,  "  De 
I'inversion  de  I'instinct  sexual,"  Paris,  1885.  Ritti,  "  Gaz.  hebdom.  de 
medecine  at  de  chirurg.,"  1878,  4.  Januar.  Tamassia,  "  Rivista  sperim," 
1878,  pp.  97-117.  Lombroso,  "  Archiv.  di  Psichiatr.,"  1881.  Charcot  et 
Magtvan,  "Archiv.  de  neurologie,"  1882,  Nr.  7,  12.  Moll,  "  Die  contriire 
Sexualempfindung,"  Berlin,  2nd  edit.,  1893  (numerous  bibliographic  refer- 
ences). Chevalier,  "Archives  de  I'anthropologie  criminelle,"  vol.  v.,  No. 
27  ;  vol.  vi..  No.  31.  Reuss,  "  Aberrations  du  sens  g6n6sique,"  "  Annales 
d'hygi^ne  publique,"  1886.  Saury,  "  Etude  clinique  sur  la  folio  hore- 
ditaire,"  1886.  Brouardel,  "  Gaz.  des  hopitaux,"  1886  and  1887.  Tilier 
"L'instinct  sexuel  chez  I'homme  et  chez  les  animaux,"  1889.  Carlicr, 
"  Les  deux  prostitutions,"  1887.  Lacassagne,  art.  "  P^derastio,"  in  the 
"Diction,  encyclopedique."  Viber  t,  a.vt.  "  P6derastie,"  in  the  "Diction, 
mod.  et  de  chirurgie."  Coutagne,  "Lyon  medical,"  1880,  Nos.  35,  30. 
Blumer,  "  Americ.  Journ.  of  Insanity,"  July,  1882.  V.  Krafft,  "  Zeitschr. 
f.  Psychiatrie,"  No.  38.     Blumenstock,  art.  "  Contriiro  Soxualcmplhidung," 


324  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Feeling,  thought,  will,  and  the  whole  character,  in 
cases  of  the  complete  development  of  the  anomaly,  corre- 
spond with  the  peculiar  sexual  instinct,  but  not  with  the 
sex  which  the  individual  represents  anatomically  and 
physiologically.  This  abnormal  mode  of  feeling  may  not 
infrequently  be  recognised  in  the  manner,  dress  and 
caUing  of  the  individuals,  who  may  go  so  far  as  to  yield 
to  an  impulse  to  don  the  distinctive  clothing  corresponding 
with  the  sexual  role  in  which  they  feel  themselves  to  be. 

Anthropologically  and  clinically,  this  abnormal  mani- 
festation presents  various  degrees  of  development : — 

1  Traces  of  hetero-sexual,  with  predominating  homo- 
sexual, instinct  (psycho-sexual  hermaphrodism). 

2.  There  exists  incHnation  only  toward  the  same  sex 
(homo-sexuahty). 

3.  The  entire  mental  existence  is  altered  to  correspond 
with  the  abnormal  sexual  instinct  (effemiuation  and 
viraginity). 

4.  The  form  of  the  body  approaches  that  which 
corresponds  to  the  abnormal  sexual  instinct.  However 
actual  transitions  to  hermaphrodites  never  occur,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  completely  differentiated  genitals  ;  so  that, 

"Realencyclop.  d  ges.  Heilkunde,"  2  Aufl.  vi.  Brouardel,  "  Gaz.  des 
hfipiteaux,"  1887.  Eriese,  "Inaugural  dissert.,"  Wiirzburg,  1888.  Hofman, 
art.  " Paederastie,"  "Realencyclop.  d.  ges.  Heilkunde,"  2  Aufl.  xv.  Tar- 
nowsky,  "  Die  krankhaften  Erscheinungen  des  Geschlechtsinnes,"  ?«rlii. 
1886.  Magnan,  "  Stance  de  racademie  de  m^decine  du  13  Janvier,"  1885, 
i(Zem,  "  Annales  medico  psychol.,"  1886  ("Anomalies  du  sens  genital"; 
"  Discussion  sur  la  folie  hereditaire  ").  Serieux,  "  Recherches  cliniques  sur 
les  anomalies  de  I'instinct  sexuel,"  Paris,  1886.  Chevalier,  "  L'inversion 
sexuelle,"  Lyon,  Paris,  1893.  Ladame,  "  Revue  de  I'hypnotisme,"  Sept., 
1889.  Peyer,  "  Miinch.  med.  Wochenschrift,"  1890,  No.  23.  Leimn, 
"Neurolog.  Centralblatt,"  1891,  No.  18.  V.  Schrenck-Notzing,  "Die 
Suggestions-therapie,"  etc.,  Stuttgart.  Eulenhurg,  op.  ci^.,  p.  66,  "  Homo- 
sexuelle  Parerosie ".  Raffalovich,  "  Die  Entwickelung  der  Homo- 
sexualitfit,"  Berlin,  1895  ,  idem,  "  Uranisme  et  Unisexualite,"  Paris,  1886. 
V.  Schrenck-Notzing,  "  Klin.  Zeit-  und  Streitfragen,"  ix.  1  (Wien,  1895). 
Laupts,  "Perversion  et  perversite  sexuelles,"  Paris,  1896.  Ellis,  "Das 
contriire  Geschlechtsgefuhl,"  Leipzig,  1896.  Legrain,  "  Des  anomalies  de 
I'instinct  sexuel,"  etc.,  Paris,  1896. 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNOEMAL  MANIFESTATION.    325 

just  as  in  all  pathological  perversions  of  the  sexual  Hfe, 
the  cause  must  be  sought  in  the  brain  {androgyny  and 
gynandry). 

The  first  definite  communications  ^  concerning  this 
enigmatical  phenomenon  of  Nature  are  made  by  Gasper 
("  Ueber  Nothzucht  und  Paderastie,"  Casper's  "  Viertel- 
jahrsschrift,"  1852,  i.),  who,  it  is  true,  classes  it  with 
pederasty,  but  makes  the  pertinent  remark  that  this 
anomaly  is,  in  most  cases,  congenital,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  be  regarded  as  a  mental  hermaphrodism.  There 
exists  here  an  actual  disgust  of  sexual  contact  with  women, 
while  the  imagination  is  filled  with  beautiful  young  men, 
and  with  statues  and  pictures  of  them.  It  did  not  escape 
Casper  that  in  such  cases  emissio  penis  in  anum  (pederasty) 
is  not  the  rule,  but  that,  by  means  of  other  sexual  acts 
(mutual  onanism),  sexual  satisfaction  is  sought  and 
obtained. 

In  his  "  Chnical  Novels  "  (1863,  p  33)  Gasper  gives  the 
interesting  confession  of  a  man  showing  this  perversion 
of  the  sexual  instinct,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  assert  that, 
aside  from  vicious  imagination  and  vice,  as  a  result  of 
over-indulgence  in  normal  sexual  intercourse,  there  are 
numerous  cases  in  which  "  pederasty  "  has  its  origin  in 
a  remarkable,  obscure  impulse,  which  is  congenital  and 
inexplicable.  About  the  middle  of  the  "  sixties  "  a  certain 
assessor,  Ulrichs,  himself  subject  to  this  perverse  instinct, 

1  Dr  Moll,  of  Berlin,  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  Moritz's 
"  Magazin  f.  Erfahrungsseelenkunde,"  vol.  viii.,  Berlin,  1791,  references 
are  made  to  antipathic  sexual  instinct  in  man.  In  fact,  two  biographies 
of  men  are  there  reported  who  manifested  an  enthusiastic  love  for 
persons  of  their  own  sex.  In  the  second  case,  which  is  particularly 
noteworthy,  the  patient  himself  explains  his  aberration  by  the  fact  that, 
as  a  child  he  was  caressed  only  by  grown  persons,  and  as  a  boy  of  ten 
or  twelve  years  only  by  his  school  -  fellows.  "This,  and  the  want  of 
association  with  persons  of  the  opposite  sex,  in  me  caused  the  natural 
inclination  toward  the  female  sex  to  be  entirely  diverted  to  the  male  sex. 
i  am  still  quite  indifferent  to  women." 

It  cannot  be  determined  whotlier  such  a  case  is  one  of  congenital 
(psycho-sexual  hermaphrodisia  ?)  or  acquired  antipathic  sexual  instinct. 


326  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

came  out  and  declared,  in  numerous  articles,  under  the 
nom-de-plume  "  Numa  Numantius,^  that  the  sexual  mental 
life  was  not  connected  with  the  bodily  sex  ;  that  there 
were  male  individuals  that  felt  like  women  toward  men 
{anima  muliebris  m  corpore  virili  inclusa).  He  called  these 
people  "  urnings,"  and  demanded  nothing  less  than  the  legal 
and  social  recognition  of  this  sexual  love  of  the  urnings 
as  congenital  and,  therefore,  as  right ;  and  the  permission 
of  marriage  among  them  Ulrichs  failed,  however,  to 
prove  that  this  certainly  congenital  and  paradoxical  sexual 
feeling  was  physiological,  and  not  pathological. 

Griesinger  ("  Archiv  f.  Psychiatric,"  i.,  p.  651)  threw  the 
first  ray  of  light  on  these  facts,  anthropologically  and 
clinically  by  pointing  out  the  marked  hereditary  taint 
of  the  individual  in  a  case  which  came  under  his  own 
observation. 

We  owe  thanks  to  Westphal  ("  Archiv  f.  Psychiatric," 
ii.,  p.  73)  for  the  first  systematic  consideration  of  the 
manifestation  in  question,  which  he  defined  as  "congenital 
reversal  of  the  sexual  feeling,  with  consciousness  of  the 
abnormality  of  the  manifestation,"  and  designated  with 
the  name,  since  generally  accepted,  of  antipathic  sexual 
instinct.  At  the  same  time,  he  began  a  series  of  cases, 
which  up  to  this  time  has  numbered  about  200,  those 
reported  in  this  monograph  not  being  included. 

West2Jhal  leaves  it  undecided  as  to  whether  inverted 
sexual  feeling  is  a  symptom  of  a  neuropathic  or  of  a 
psychopathic  condition,  or  whether  it  may  occur  as  an 
isolated  manifestation.  He  holds  fast  to  the  opinion  that 
the  condition  is  congenital. 

From  the  cases  published  up  to  1877  I  have  desig- 
nated this  peculiar  sexual  feeling  as  a  functional  sign 
of  degeneration,  and  as  a  partial  manifestation  of  a 
neuro-  (psycho-)  pathic  state,  in  most  cases  hereditary, — a 

*"  Vindex,  Inclusa,  Vindicta,  Pormatrix,  Ara  spei,  Gladius  furens  " 
(Leipzig,  H.  Matthes,  18G4  and  1865) ;  Ulrichs,  "  Ki-itische  Pfeilc,"  IST'J, 
in  Commission,  by  H.  Cronlein,  Stuttgart,  Augustenstrasse,  5. 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNORMAL  MANIFESTATION.   327 

supposition  which  has  found  renewed  confirmation  in  a 
consideration  of  additional  cases.  The  following  pecu- 
liarities may  be  given  as  the  signs  of  this  neuro-  (psycho-) 
pathic  taint : — 

1.  The  sexual  hfe  of  individuals  thus  organised  mani- 
fests itself,  as  a  rule,  abnormally  early,  and  thereafter  with 
abnormal  power.  Not  infrequently  still  other  perverse 
manifestations  are  presented  besides  the  abnormal  method 
of  sexual  satisfaction,  which  in  itself  is  conditioned  by  the 
peculiar  sexual  feeling. 

2.  The  psychical  love  manifest  in  these  men  is,  for 
the  most  part,  exaggerated  and  exalted  in  the  same  way 
as  their  sexual  instinct  is  manifested  in  consciousness, 
with  a  strange  and  even  compelling  force. 

3.  By  the  side  of  the  functional  signs  of  degeneration 
attending  antipathic  sexual  feeling  are  found  other 
functional,  and  in  many  cases  anatomical,  evidences  of 
degeneration. 

4.  Neuroses  (hysteria,  neurasthenia,  epileptoid  states, 
etc.)  co-exist.  Almost  invariably  the  existence  of  temporary 
or  lasting  neurasthenia  may  be  proved.  As  a  rule,  this  is 
constitutional,  having  its  root  in  congenital  conditions.  It 
is  awakened  and  maintained  by  masturbation  or  enforced 
abstinence. 

In  male  individuals,  owing  to  these  practices  or  to 
congenital  disposition,  there  is  finally  neurasthenia  sextialis, 
which  manifests  itself  essentially  in  irritable  weakness  of 
the  ejaculation  centre.  Thus  it  is  explained  that,  in  most 
of  the  cases,  simply  embracing  and  kissing,  or  even  only 
the  sight  of  the  loved  person,  induce  the  act  of  ejaculation. 
Frequently  this  is  accompanied  by  an  abnormally  powerful 
feeling  of  lustful  pleasure,  which  may  be  so  intense  as  to 
suggest  a  feeling  of  "magnetic"  currents  passing  through 
the  body. 

5.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  psychical  anomalies  (bril- 
liant endowment  in  art,  especially  music,  poetry,  etc.,  by 
the  side  of  bad  intellectual  powers  or  original  eccentricity) 


328  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

are  present,  which  may  even  go  so  far  as  pronounced  con- 
ditions of  mental  degeneration  (imbecihty,  moral  insanity). 

In  many  urnings,  either  temporarily  or  permanently, 
insanity  of  a  degenerative  character  (pathological  emo- 
tional states,  periodical  insanity,  paranoia,  etc.)  makes  its 
appearance. 

6.  In  almost  all  cases  v^here  an  examination  of  the 
physical  and  mental  peculiarities  of  the  ancestors  and 
blood  relations  has  been  possible,  neuroses,  psychoses, 
degenerative  signs,  etc.,  have  been  found  in  the  families.^ 

The  depth  of  congenital  inverted  feeling  is  shown  l)y 
the  fact  that  the  lustful  dream  of  the  male-loving  urning 
has  for  its  content  only  male  individuals  ;  that  of  the 
female-loving  woman,  only  female  individuals,  with  corre- 
sponding situations. 

The  observation  of  West2)hal,  that  the  consciousness  of 
one  congenitally  defective  in  sexual  desires  toward  the 
opposite  sex  is  painfully  affected  by  the  impulse  toward 
the  same  sex,  is  true  in  only  a  number  of  cases.  Indeed, 
in  many  instances,  the  consciousness  of  the  abnormality 
of  the  condition  is  wanting.  The  majority  of  urnings  are 
happy  in  their  perverse  sexual  feeling  and  impulse,  and 
unhappy  only  in  so  far  as  social  and  legal  barriers  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  satisfaction  of  their  instinct  toward 
their  own  sex. 

The  study  of  antipathic  sexual  feeling  points  directly 
to  anomalies  of  the  cerebral  organisation  of  the  affected 
individuals.  The  very  fact  that  in  these  cases,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  sexual  glands  are  found  quite  normal, 
anatomically  and  functionally,  seems  to  favour  this 
assumption. 

1  Tarnowshy  {op.  cit.,  p.  34)  records  a  case  which  shows  that  antipathic 
sexual  feeling,  as  a  concomitant  manifestation  with  neurotic  degeneration, 
may  also  affect  the  descendants  of  parents  having  no  neurotic  taint.  In 
tliis  instance,  lues  of  the  parents  plaj'ed  a  part,  as  in  a  similar  case  of 
Scholz  ("  Vierteljahrsschr.  f.  ger.  Med."),  in  which  the  perversion  of  the 
sexual  desires  stood  in  causal  relation  with  an  arrest  of  psychical  develop- 
ment, caused  by  traumatism. 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNORMAL  MANIFESTATION.  329 

This  enigmatical  manifestation  in  the  nature  of  man 
has  led  to  many  attempts  of  explanation. 

Among  lay  persons,  it  is  called  vice ;  in  the  language 
of  the  law,  crime.  Those  tainted  with  it,  although  recog- 
nising it  as  an  abnormality,  claim  for  it  the  same  rights 
and  privileges  that  are  accorded  to  normal  (hetero-sexual) 
love,  on  account  of  its  being  based  upon  a  freak  of  nature. 
From  Plato  down  to  Ulrichs,  m  antipathic  sexual  circles, 
this  standpoint  is  maintained,  Plato's  "  Banquet,"  chapters 
viii.  and  ix.,  are  quoted  for  that  purpose,  viz.  :  "  There  is 
no  Aphrodites  without  an  Eros.  But  there  are  two 
goddesses.  The  older  Aphrodites  came  into  existence 
without  a  mother ;  being  the  daughter  of  Uranos  she  is 
called  Urania.  The  younger  Aphrodites  is  the  daughter 
of  Zeus  and  Diana  and  is  called  Pandemos.  The  Eros 
of  the  former  must,  therefore,  be  Uranos,  that  of  the 
latter  Pandemos.  With  the  love  of  Eros  Pandemos  the 
ordinary  human  beings  love  ;  Eros  Uranos  did  not  choose 
a  female  but  a  male  ,  this  is  the  love  for  boys.  Whoever 
is  inspired  with  this  love  turns  to  the  male  sex."  From 
many  other  places  m  the  classics  the  impression  may  be 
won  that  Uranic  love  attained  a  higher  position  even 
than  her  sister.  More  recent  explanations  of  the  homo- 
sexual instinct  have  emanated  from  philosophers,  psj^cho- 
logists  and  natural  scientists. 

One  of  the  most  peculiar  explanations  is  advanced  by 
Schojjenhauer  ("  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung  "), 
who  seriously  contends  that  nature  seeks  to  prevent  old 
men  {i.e.,  over  fifty  years  of  age)  from  begetting  children, 
since  experience  teaches  that  these  never  turn  out  good. 
For  this  purpose  nature  in  her  wisdom  has  turned  the 
sexual  instinct  in  old  men  towards  their  own  sex  !  The 
great  philosopher  and  thinker  evidently  was  not  aware 
that  sexual  inversion,  as  a  rule,  exists  ab  origine,  and  that 
pederasty,  occurring  in  the  senium,  is  only  sexual  perversity, 
but  by  no  means  proves  the  presence  of  perversion. 

Binet  attempts  to  explain  these  pecuhar  manifestations 


330  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

from  a  psycJwlogical  standpoint,  thinking  (with  Condillac) 
to   reduce   them— together  with   other   bizarre  psychical 
phenomena  —  to   the   law   of   association   of    ideas    {i.e., 
association   of   ideas  with    sentiments   in   statu  nascendi. 
This  clever  psychologist  assumes  that  the  instinct  not 
as  yet  sexually  differentiated  is  determined  by  the  coin- 
cidence of  a  vivid  sexual  emotion  with  the  simultaneous 
sight  or  contact   of   a   person  of  the  opposite  sex.     In 
this  manner  a  mighty  association  is  created,  which  takes 
root  by  repeating  itself,   whilst  the  original  associative 
process  is  forgotten  or  becoiaes  latent.     Even  to-day  v. 
Schrenck-Notzing  and  others  lean  to  this  opinion,  in  their 
efforts   to    explain   the   inverted   sexual   instinct  (chiefly 
when  acquired);  but  it  cannot  withstand  serious  criticism. 
Psychological  forces  are  insufficient  to  explain  manifes- 
tations  of  so  thoroughly   degenerated  a  character   {vide 
infra) . 

Chevalier  ("Inversion  Sexuelle,"  Paris,  1893)  rightly 
demurs  against  Binet  that  these  attempts  at  psychological 
explanations  explain  neither  the  precocity  of  homo-sexual 
impulses,  i.e.,  such  as  have  existed  long  before  sexual 
feelings  were  associated  with  imagination,  nor  the  aver- 
sion towards  the  opposite  sex,  nor  early  appearance  of 
secondary  psychico-sexual  manifestations.  Nevertheless, 
Binct's  subtle  remark  that  the  lasting  presence  of  such 
associations  is  only  possible  in  predisposed  (tainted)  indi- 
viduals is  worthy  of  note. 

Neither  do  the  explanations  attempted  by  physicians 
and  naturalists  prove  anything  to  satisfaction.  Glcy 
("  Revue  philosophique,"  January,  1884)  maintains  that 
those  afflicted  with  inverted  sexual  instinct  have  a  female 
brain  (!)  but  mascuHne  sexual  glands,  and  that  an  existing 
morbid  condition  of  the  brain  determines  the  sexual  life, 
whilst  e  contra  and  normally  the  sexual  glands  influence 
the  sexual  cerebral  functions.  Magnan  ("  Annales  med. 
psychol.,"  1885,  p.  458)  also  speaks  of  a  female  brain  in 
the  body  of  a  man  and  vice  versa.     Ulrichs  ("  Memnon," 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNORMAL  MANIFESTATION.  331 

1868)  comes  closer  to  the  point  when  he  speaks  of  a 
anima  muliehris  virili  corpori  innata,  and  thus  seeks  to 
explain  congenital  effeminaioO.  According  to  Mantegazza 
{op.  cit.  1886,  p.  106),  anatomical  anomalies  exist  in  such 
persons  in  so  far  as  the  natural  plexus  of  the  genital  nerves 
terminates  in  the  rectum,  thus  misdirecting  thither  all 
lustful  desires.  But  surely  nature  never  is  guilty  of  such 
errors  or  "  saltus  ".  Neither  does  she  burden  a  mascuhne 
body  v^ith  a  female  brain.  The  author  of  this  hypothesis, 
otherwise  so  acute,  quite  overlooks  the  fact  that  the 
individuals  given  to  sexual  inversion,  as  a  rule,  abhor 
the  use  of  the  anus — viz.,  pederasty.  Mantegazza  reverts, 
as  a  support  for  his  hypothesis,  to  the  communications 
which  he  received  from  a  well-known  prominent  author, 
who  assured  him  that  he  was  not  as  yet  satisfied  in  his 
own  mind  whether  he  derived  greater  pleasure  from  coitus 
than  from  defaecation.  Even  if  we  admit  the  correctness 
of  this  statement,  it  would  only  prove  that  its  author  was 
sexually  abnormal,  and  that  he  derived  but  a  minimum  of 
pleasure  from  coitus.  Moreover,  one  would  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  mucous  membrane  of  his  rectum  was, 
in  some  abnormal  manner,  erogenous. 

Bernhardi  ("  Der  Uranismus,"  Berlin,  1882)  casually 
found  in  five  effeminati  ("  Pathici  ")  absence  of  spermatozoa, 
in  four  cases  not  even  sperm  crystals,  and  thought  to 
find  the  solution  of  this  "  enigma  of  many  thousand  years" 
in  the  assumption  that  the  pathicus  was  a  "  monster  of 
the  feminine  sex,  having  nothing  else  in  common  with 
the  male  than  the  male  genitals,  which  in  some  cases 
are  even  only  imperfectly  developed  ".  This  author  could 
not  even  base  his  contention  upon  an  autopsy,  which, 
no  doubt,  would  have  eventually  established  a  case  of 
hermaphrodism . 

Those  practising  active  viraginity  and  gynandry  ho 
styles  as  "  monsters  of  mascuhne  gender  in  opposition  to 
which  the  passive  tribadc  is  as  perfect  a  woman  as  the 
active  pa^dicator  is  a  perfect  man  ". 


332  PSTCnOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

The  author  of  this  book  has  made  an  attempt  to  utiHse 
facts  of  heredity  for  an  explanation  of  this  anomaly. 
Proceeding  from  the  experience  that  manifestations  of 
sexual  perversion  are  frequently  found  in  the  parents,  he 
suspects  that  the  various  grades  of  congenital  sexual 
inversion  represent  various  grades  of  sexual  anomaly 
inherited  by  birth,  acquired  by  ascendency,  or  otherwise 
developed.  In  this  connection,  the  lavy  of  progressive 
heredity  must  also  be  considered. 

All  attempts  at  explanation  made  hitherto  on  the 
ground  of  natural  philosophy  or  psychology,  or  those  of 
a  merely  speculative  character  are  insufficient. 

Later  researches,  hovi^ever,  proceeding  on  embryo- 
logical  (onto-  and  phylogenetic)  and  anthropological  lines 
seem  to  promise  good  results. 

Emanating  from  Frank  Lydston  ("  Philadelphia  Med.  and 
Surg.  Recorder,"  September,  1888,)  and  Kiernan  ("  Medical 
Standard,"  November,  1888),  they  are  based  (1)  on  the 
fact  that  bisexual  organisation  is  still  found  in  the  lower 
animal  kingdom,  and  (2)  on  the  supposition  that  mono- 
sexuality  gradually  developed  from  bisexuality.  Kiernan 
assumes  in  trying  to  subordinate  the  sexual  inversion 
to  the  category  of  hermaphrodism  that  in  individuals  thus 
affected  retrogression  into  the  earlier  hermaphrodisic 
forms  of  the  animal  kingdom  may  take  place  at  least 
functionally.  These  are  his  own  words :  "  The  original 
bisexuality  of  the  ancestors  of  the  race,  shown  in  the 
rudimentary  female  organs  of  the  male,  could  not  fail  to 
occasion  functional,  if  not  organic  reversions,  when  mental 
or  physical  manifestations  were  interfered  with  by  disease 
or  congenital  defect.  It  seems  certain  that  a  feminily 
functionating  brain  can  occupy  a  male  body  and  vice 
versa.'' 

Chevalier  (op.  cit.,  p.  408)  proceeds  from  the  original 
bisexual  life  in  the  animal  kingdom,  and  the  original 
bisexual  predisposition  in  the  human  foetus. 

According  to  him  the  difference  in  the  gender,  with 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNORMAL  MANIFESTATION.   333 

marked  physical  and  psychical  sexual  character,  is  only 
the  result  of  endless  processes  of  evolution.  The  psycho- 
physical sexual  difference  runs  parallel  with  the  high  level 
of  the  evolving  process.  The  individual  being  must 
also  itself  pass  through  these  grades  of  evolution  ;  it  is 
originally  bisexual,  but  in  the  struggle  between  the  male 
and  female  elements  either  one  or  the  other  is  conquered, 
and  a  monosexual  being  is  evolved  which  corresponds  with 
the  type  of  the  present  stage  of  evolution.  But  traces  of 
the  conquered  sexuality  remain.  Under  certain  circum- 
stances, these  caracteres  sexuels  latents  may  gain  Darwin's 
signification,  i.e.,  they  may  provoke  manifestations  of 
inverted  sexuality  Chevalier  does  not,  however,  look 
upon  such  processes  as  a  retrogression  fatavism),  in  the 
sense  of  Lombroso's  opinion  and  that  of  others,  but  rather 
considers  them  with  Lacassagne  as  disturbances  in  the 
present  stage  of  evolution. 

If  the  structure  of  this  opinion  is  continued,  the 
following  anthropological  and  historical  facts  may  be 
evolved  : — 

1.  The  sexual  apparatus  consists  of  (a)  the  sexual 
glands  and  the  organs  of  reproduction ;  (b)  the  spinal 
centres,  which  act  either  as  a  check  or  a  stimulus  upon 
(a)  ;  (c)  the  cerebral  regions,  in  which  the  psychical 
processes  of  the  vita  sexualis  are  enacted. 

Since  the  original  predisposition  of  (a)  is  of  a  bisexual 
character,  the  same  must  be  claimed  for  {b)  and  (c). 

2.  The  tendency  of  nature  in  the  present  stage  of 
evolution  is  the  reproduction  of  monosexual  individuals, 
and  the  law  of  experience  teaches  that  that  cerebral  centre 
is  normally  developed  which  corresponds  with  the  sexual 
glands  ("Law  of  the  Sexual  Homologous  Development  ") 

3.  This  destruction  of  antipathic  sexuality  is  at  present 
not  yet  completed.  In  the  same  manner  in  which  the 
processus  vermiformis  in  the  intestinal  tube  points  to 
former  stages  of  organisation,  so  may  also  be  found  in 
the   sexual    apparatus — in  the    male    as   well   as   in    the 


334  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

female — residua,  which  point  to  the  original  onto-  and 
phylogenetic  bisexuality,  not  to  speak  of  hermaphrodisic 
malformations,  which  may  be  looked  upon  merely  as 
partial  excesses  of  development,  or  disturbances  in  the 
formation  of  the  sexual  organisation,  and  especially  of 
the  external  genitals. 

The  residua  referred  to  are,  in  the  male,  the  utriculus 
masculinus  (remnants  of  the  "  Miillersche  Gangs  ")  and 
the  nipple,  in  woman  the  paroophoron  (remnants  of  the 
original  renal  portions  of  the  Wolftian  bodies),  and  the 
epoophoron  (remnants  of  Wolff's  ganglia,  and  analogous 
with  the  epididymis  in  the  male).  Beigel,  Klebs,  Furst  and 
others  have  found  in  the  human  female  suggestions  of  the 
Wolffian  bodies  in  the  shape  of  the  so-called  Gartnerian 
canals,  which  in  the  female  ruminants  are  regularly  present 
in  the  lateral  wall  of  the  uterus. 

4.  Besides,  a  long  line  of  clinical  and  anthropological 
facts  favour  this  assumption. 

I  will  only  call  attention  to  the  not  infrequent  cases 
of  individuals  with  characters  of  mixed  or  (in  the 
sense  of  sexual  inversion)  predominating  physical  and 
psychical  sexuality  ("female  men  and  male  women  "),  to 
the  appearance  of  the  female  character  (psychically  and 
physically)  in  men,  consequent  upon  castration  {eunuchs), 
and  of  the  male  character  in  women  after  the  removal  of 
the  ovaries  in  early  yd^h,  also  to  the  manifestations  of 
viraginity  in  climax  prcBcox,  and  even  to  the  development 
of  a  second  gender. 

Professor  Kaltenhach  gives  a  remarkable  instance  of 
such  a  second  (antipathic)  vita  sexualis,  developed  upon 
climax  jpracox. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1892,  he  consulted  me  about 
"  a  woman,  thirty  years  of  age,  married  two  years,  who 
formerly  had  irregular  menstruations  ". 

Since  June,  1891,  a  sudden  series  of  manifestations 
which  corresponded  with  the  process  of  masculine  puberty, 
viz.,  full  beard,  hair  of  the  head  much  darker,  eyebrows 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  ABNORMAL  MANIFESTATION.   335 

and  pubis  strongly  developed,  chest  and  abdomen  covered 
with  hair  as  in  man. 

Increased  activity  of  the  sudoriparous  and  sebaceous 
glands.  Upon  chest,  back  and  face  strong  miliary  and 
acne  developments,  whilst  formerly  the  tint  was  classically 
white  and  smooth.  Change  of  voice  —  formerly  rich 
soprano,  now  a  "  lieutenant's  voice  ".  The  entire  facial 
expression  changed.  Complete  change  of  carriage  :  chest 
broad,  waist  gone,  abdomen  prominent  with  adipose  tissue, 
short  thick-set  neck,  masculine  all  over.  Lower  part 
of  face  broad,  breasts  flat  and  masculine.  Psychical 
changes  :  formerly  mild  and  tractable,  now  energetic, 
hard  to  control,  even  aggressive.  From  the  beginning 
of  marriage  no  adequate  sexual  desire,  but  no  traces  of 
inversion. 

In  the  sexual  organs  also  highly  interesting  changes 
may  be  found.  "  Thus  this  young  woman  has  changed 
into  a  man,  to  all  intents  and  purposes." 

My  explanation  of  the  case  : — 

"  Climax  prcBcox,  loss  of  former  feminine  sexuality. 
Physical  and  psychical  development  of  male  sexuality, 
hitherto  latent.  Interesting  illustration  of  the  bi-sexual 
predisposition,  and  of  the  possibility  of  continued  existence 
of  a  second  sexuality  in  a  latent  state,  under  conditions 
hitherto  unknown." 

Unfortunately,  I  could  obtain  no  further  information 
about  the  subsequent  metamorphosis  of  this  case,  or  the 
presence  of  probable  hereditary  taint. 

Vide  also  cases  108  and  109,  given  above.  In  these 
severe  neurasthenia  was  the  causating  element  of  trans- 
miitatio  sexus,  based  upon  heavy  taint ;  the  change,  however, 
being  only  psychical,  and  not  affecting  the  physical  sexual 
character. 

5.  These  manifestations  of  inverted  sexuality  are 
evidently  found  only  in  persons  with  organic  taint}     In 

1  The  researches  in  zoology,  by  Klaus  ("  Zoology,"  1891,  p.  490)  show 
that,  in  the  lower  grades  of  the  auiiual  world,  not  only  hcrmaplirodisni 


336  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

normal  constitutions  the  law  of  mono-sexual  development, 
homologous  with  the  sexual  glands,  remains  intact.  That 
the  cerebral  centre  is  developed  under  other  conditions, 
quite  independent  from  the  peripheral  sexual  organs  (in- 
cluding the  sexual  glands),  is  evident  from  the  cases  oi 
hermaphrodism  (at  least,  so  far  as  pseudo-hermaphrodism 
is  concerned),  in  which  the  law  referred  to  above  remains 
intact  in  the  sense  of  mono-sexual  development,  analogous 
to  the  sexual  glands.  In  hcrmaprodismus  verus,  however, 
physically  as  well  as  psychically,  a  mutual  influence  of 
both  centres  obtains,  and  thus  also  a  neutralisation  of 
the  vita  amoris,  assuming  even  a  state  of  asexuality,  and 
a  tendency  to  physically  and  psychically  combine  and 
put  into  operation  both  these  sexual  characters. 

But  hermaphrodism  and  sexual  inversion  stand  in  no 
relation  to  each  other.  This  is  clear  from  the  fact  that 
the  hermaphrodite  (or,  practically  speaking,  the  pseudo- 
hermaphrodite) follows  the  law  of  evolution  quoted  above, 
and  does  not  offer  inverted  sexuality,  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  hermaphrodism  has  never  been  anatomically 
observed  in  cases  of  antipathic  sexual  instinct.  This 
follows,  without  further  argument,  from  the  difference  of 
the  conditions  under  which  they  originate,  for  in  sexual 
inversion  we  must  look  for  the  cause  in  central  (cerebral) 
defects,  and  in  hermaphrodism  in  the  anomalies  affecting 
the  peripheral  sexual  apparatus. 

The  facts  quoted  seem  to  support  an  attempt  of 
a  historical  and  anthropological  explanation  of  sexual 
inversion. 

It  is  a  disturbance  of  the  law  of  the  development  of 
the  cerebral  centre,  homologous  to  the  sexual  glands 
(homo  -  sexuality),    and    eventually   also   of  the   law    of 

exists,  but  that  also  (physiological  ?)  sexual  exchange  in  one  and  the 
same  individual  may  take  place.  Klaus  states  that  the  cyniothoidecB 
(classified  under  Crustacea)  perform  in  the  first  part  of  their  life  the 
functions  of  the  male,  and  in  the  second  part  under  many,  even 
secondary,  changes  of  the  sexual  character  those  of  the  female. 


HOMO-SEXUAL  FEELING  AS  AB.NOEMAL  MANIFESTATION.   337 

the  mono-sexual  formation  of  the  individual  (psychical 
"  hermaphrodism  ").  In  the  former  case  it  is  the  centre 
of  bi-sexual  predisposition,  antagonistic  to  the  gender 
represented  by  the  sexual  gland,  which  in  a  paradoxical 
manner  conquers  that  originally  intended  to  be  superior  ; 
yet  the  law  of  mono-sexual  development  obtains.^ 

In  the  other  case  victory  lies  with  neither  centre  ;  yet 
an  indication  of  the  tendency  of  mono-sexual  development 
remains,  in  so  far  that  one  is  predominant,  as  a  rule  the 
contrary.  This  is  the  more  remarkable  since  it  has  not 
the  support  of  a  corresponding  sexual  gland — in  fact,  not 
even  a  peripheral  sexual  apparatus,  another  proof  that  the 
cerebral  centre  is  autonomous,  and  in  its  development 
independent  of  the  sexual  glands. 

In  the  first  case  it  must  be  assumed  that  the  centre 
which  by  right  should  have  conquered  was  too  weak. 
This  fact  may  be  recognised  in  the  subsequently  weak 
libido  in  the  sexual  character,  but  feebly  marked  in  the 
physical  and  psychical  conditions. 

In  the  second  case  both  centres  were  too  weak  to 
obtain  victory  and  superiority. 

This  defect  of  the  natural  laws  must,  from  the  anthro- 
pological and  clinical  standpoint,  be  considered  as  a 
manifestation  of  degeneration.  In  fact,  in  all  cases  of 
sexual  inversion  a  taint  of  a  hereditary  character  may 
be  established.  What  causes  produce  this  factor  of  taint 
and  its  activity  is  a  question  which  cannot  be  well 
answered  by  science  in  its  present  stage.^ 

1  A  mono-sexual  psychic  apparatus  of  generation,  in  a  mono-sexual 
body  which  belongs  to  the  opposite  sex,  does,  of  course,  not  mean  a 
"  feminine  soul  in  a  masculine  brain,"  or  vice  versa — this  would  simply 
contradict  all  monistic  and  scientific  thought ;  neither  a  feminine  brain 
in  a  masculine  body — this  contradicts  every  anatomical  fact — but  only  a 
feminine  psycho-sexual  centre  in  a  masculine  brain,  and  vice  versa. 

^  Joseph  Mailer,  in  a  clever  brochure  ("  Uber  Gamophagy,"  Stuttgart, 
1892)  offers  an  inducement  for  further  research  in  this  direction.  Ho 
advances  the  opinion  that  by  a  certain  law  established  by  necessity,  and 
transcending  in  normal  fashion,  a  union  of  the  organs  and  their  qualities  is 

22 


338  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

There  are  plenty  of  analogous  cases  to  be  found  in 
tainted  individuals.  For  the  symptoms  of  influences 
disturbing  physical  and  psychical  evolution,  and  plainly 
to  be  found  in  the  germ  of  procreation,  exhibit  themselves 
in  many  other  manifestations  of  a  defective  or  perverse 
character  (signs  of  anatomical,  functional,  somatic  and 
psychical  degeneration). 

The  antipathic  sexual  instinct  is  only  the  strongest 
mark  left  by  a  vs^hole  series  of  exhibitions  of  the  partial 
development  of  psychical  and  physical  inverted  sexual 
characters  (vide  supra),  and  one  may  be  easily  permitted 
to  say  :  The  more  indistinct  the  psychical  and  physical 
sexual  characters  appear  in  the  individual,  the  deeper  it 
is  below  the  present  level  of  perfect  homologous  mono- 
sexuality  obtained  in  the  evolution  of  manifold  thousands 
of  years. 

The  cerebral  centre  mediates  the  psychical  and, 
indirectly,  also  the  physical  sexual  characters.  The 
various  grades  of  congenital  antipathic  sexuality  will  be 
found  to  correspond  with  the  intensity  of  various  grades 
of  taint. 

The  same  holds  good  with  regard  to  "acquired"  sexual 
inversion,  which  exhibits  itself  only  later  in  hfe.  Untainted 
man  will  never  become  sexually  inverted  through  onanism 
or  seduction  by  persons  of  the  same  sex  ;  for,  as  soon 
as  the  extrinsic  influences  cease,  he  returns  to  normal 
sexual  functions.  The  tainted  individual,  however,  whose 
psycho-sexual  centre  is  originally  weak,  is  in  a  different 
position.  All  possible  psychical  and  physical  deficiencies, 
especially  neurasthenia,  are  able  to  impair  his  weakened 
sexuality,  homologous  though  it  may  have  been  hitherto 

effected.  This  union  would  explain  how,  in  the  struggle  of  the  development 
of  mono-  and  bi-sexuality,  those  organs  and  their  qualities  suffer  the 
common  fate  of  conquest  or  defeat  which  belong  together  as  a  whole 
with  regard  to  their  functional  capacity.  The  defect  of  the  elements 
connecting  the  organs  during  the  struggle  for  superiority  in  beings 
subject  to  organic  taint  could  only  be  explained  as  a  negative  result  of 
this  hypothetical  law. 


CONGENITAL   ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL   INSTINCT    IN   MAN.      339 

to  the  sexual  glands.  These  evil  influences  may  render 
him  furthermost  psychically  bi-sexual,  then  invertedly 
mono  -  sexual,  and  eventually  may  effect  even  eviratio 
{defeminatio),  by  way  of  producing  physical  and  psychical 
characters  of  sexuahty,  in  the  sense  of  predominating 
contrary,  or  the  destruction  of  original,  centres.  On 
page  '269  I  have  tried  to  shov7  in  how  far  neurasthenia 
may  give  the  impulse  for  the  development  of  antipathic 
sexuality. 

Congenital  Antipathic  Sexual  Instinct  in  IVIan.i 

The  sexual  acts  by  means  of  which  male  urnings 
seek  and  find  satisfaction  are  multifarious.  There  are 
individuals  of  fine  feeling  and  strength  of  will  who 
sometimes    satisfy  themselves    with   platonic   love,  with 

1  Cases  :  (1)  Gasper,  "  Klin.  Novellen,"  p.  36  ("  Lohrb.  d.  gerichtl. 
Med.,"  7  Aufl.,  p.  176).  (2)  Westphal,  "  Archiv  f.  Psychiatrie,"  ii.,  p.  73. 
(3)  Schmincke,  ibid.,  iii.,  p.  225.  (4)  Scholz,  "  Vierteljahrssch.  f.  gerichl. 
Med.,"  xix.  (5)  Clock,  "  Arch.  f.  Psychiatrie,"  v.,  p.  564.  (6)  Servaes,  ibid., 
vi.,  p.  484.  Westphal,  ibid.,  vi.,  p.  620.  (8-10)  Stark,  "  Zeitsch.  f. 
Psychiatrie,"  Bd.  81.  (11)  Liman  {Casper's  "  Lehrb.  d.  gerichtl.  Med.," 
6  Aufl.,  p.  509),  p.  291.  (12)  Legrand  du  Saulle,  "  Ann.  mM.  psychol.," 
1876,  May.  (13)  Sterz,  "  Jahrb.  f.  Psych.,"  iii..  Heft.  3.  (14)  Knieg, 
"  Brain,"  1884,  Oct.  (15)  Charcot  and  Magnan,  "  Arch,  de  neurol.,"  1882, 
No.  9.  (16-18)  Ki^n,  "  Zeitsch.  f.  Psych.,"  Bd.  39,  p.  216.  (19)  Rabow, 
"  Erlenmeyer's  Centralbl.,"  1883,  No.  8.  (20)  Blumer,  "  Americ.  Journ. 
of  Insan.,"  1882,  July.  (21)  Savage,  "Journ.  of  Ment.  Science,"  1884,  Oct. 
(22)  Scholz,  "  Viertelj.  f.  gerichtl.  Med.,"  N.F.,  Bd.  43,  Heft.  7.  (23) 
Magnan,  "  Ann.  m6d.  psych.,"  1885,  p.  461.  (24)  Chevalier,  "  Do 
I'inversion  de  I'instinct  sexuel,"  Paris,  1885,  p.  129.  (25)  Morsclli,  "  La 
riforma  medica,"  4  vol.,  March.  (26)  Leonpacher,  "Friedreich's 
Blatter,"  1888,  Heft.  4.  (27)  Hollander,  "  Allg.  Wiener  mad.  Zeit.,"  1882. 
(28)  Kriese,  "  Erlenmeyer's  Centralbl.,"  1888,  No.  19.  (29-32)  v.  KraJJt, 
"  Psychopathia  Sexualis,"  3rd  edit.,  cases  32,  36,  42,  and  43.  (33)  Golcnko, 
"  Euss.  Arch.  f.  Psych.,"  Bd.  ix..  Heft  3.  (von  Rothe  mitgetheilt,  in  "  Zeitsch. 
f.  Psych.").  (34)  V.  Krafft,  "  Internat.  Centralblatt,  f.  d.  Physiol,  and  Pathol, 
d.  Harn-  und  Sexualorgane."  Bd.  i..  Heft  1.  (35)  Cantarano,  "  La  Psichi- 
atria,"  1887,  vol.  v.,  p.  195.  (36)  Sirieux,  "  Rcchorches  cliniques  sur  les 
anomalies  d  I'instinct  sexuel,"  Paris,  1888,  obs.  13.  (37-42)  Kiernan,  "  The 
Med.  Standard,"  1888,  7  cases.  (43-46)  Rabow,  "  Zeitsch.  f.  Klin.  Mod.," 
Bd.  xvii.,  Suppl.     (47-51)  v.  KrajJt,  "  Neue  Forschungen,"  Bcob.  1,  3,4,  5, 


340  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

the  risk,  however,  of  becoming  nervous  (neurasthenic) 
and  insane  as  a  result  of  this  enforced  abstinence.  In 
other  instances,  for  the  same  reasons  which  may  lead 
normal  individuals  to  avoid  coitus,  onanism,  faute  de  mieux, 
is  indulged  in. 

In  urnings  with  nervous  systems  congenitally  irritable, 
or  injured  by  onanism  (irritable  weakness  of  the  ejacu- 
lation centre),  simple  embraces  or  caresses,  with  or  without 
contact  of  the  genitals,  are  sufficient  to  induce  ejaculation 
and  consequent  satisfaction.  In  less  irritable  individuals, 
the  sexual  act  consists  of  manustupration  by  the  loved 
person,  or  mutual  onanism,  or  imitation  of  coitus  between 
the  thighs.  In  urnings  morally  perverse  and  potent,  quoad 
erectionem,  the  sexual  desire  is  satisfied  by  pederasty, — an 

8.  (52-61)  Idem,  "  Psychopathia  Sexualis,"  5th  edit.  Beob.  53,  61,  64,  66, 
73,  75,  78,  84,  85,  87.  (62-65)  Idem,  "  Neue  Forschuugen,"  2nd  edit.,  Beob. 
3,  4,  5,  6.  (66-67)  Hammond,  "  Sexual  Impotence ".  (63-71)  Gamier, 
"Anomalies  sexuelles,"  1889,  cases  227,  228,  229,  280.  (72)  v.  Erafft, 
"Friedreich's  Blatter,"  1891,  Heft  6.  (73-87)  Idem,  "Psych.  Sex.,"  6th 
edit.,  Beob.  78,  81,  82,  84,  85,  86,  87,  89,  93,  94,  96,  97,  98,  101,  102.  (88) 
Frdnhel,  "  Med.  Zeit.  d.  Vereins  f .  Heilkunde  in  Preussen,"  Bd.  22, 
p.  102  {homo  mollis).  (89-91)  Bernheim,  "  Hypnotisme,"  Paris,  1891, 
obs.  38,  etc.  {92)  Wetterstrand,  "  Der  Hypnotismus,"  1891.  (93)  Milller, 
"  Hydrotherapie,"  1890,  p.  309.  (94-96)  v.  Schrenck-Notzing,  "  Suggestions 
therapie,"  1892,  cases  63,  67,  68.  (97)  Ladame,  "  Revue  de  I'hypnotisme," 
1889,  Sept.  1.  (98)  v.  Krafft,  "  Internat.  Centralblatt  f.  d.  Krankh.  d. 
Harn- Geschlechtsorgane,"  Bd.  i.,Heftl.  (99-100)  T^acJi/wZz,  "  Friedreich's 
Blatter  f.  gerichtl.  Med.,"  1892,  Heft  6.  (101-110)  Moll,  "  Contr.  Sexual- 
empfindung,"  2  edit.,  cases  1-10.  (111-123)  v.  Krafft,  "  Psych.  Sex.," 
8  Aufl.,  Beob.  109,  110,  114,  119,  121,  122,  125,  136,  137,  138,  140,  141,  143. 
(124-143)  Idein,  "  Jahrb.  f.  Psych.,"  xii.,  1894.  (144)  Legrain,  "Arch,  de 
Neurologie,"  1886,  Jan.  (145)  Dessoir,  "  Zeitsch.  f.  Psychiatric,"  Bd.  50, 
Heft  5,  p.  959.  (146-151)  v.  Krafft,  "Psych.  Sex.,"  9.  Aufl.,  Beob.  109, 
110,  128,  129,  131,  133.  (152-181)  Idem,  "  Der  contrar  Sexuale  vor  dem 
Strafrichter,"  2  Aufl.,  Wien,  1895,  Beob.  21-50.  (182)  "  Laupts,  "Arch. 
d'Authropol.  criminelle,"  1894  and  1895,  p.  320.  (183)  Snoo,  "  Psychiatr. 
Bladen,"  xii.,  xiii.  (184)  Mcyhofer,  "  Zeitschr.  f.  Med.  Beamte,"  v.,  16. 
(185)  Talbot,  "  Journ.  of  Mental  Science,"  1896,  April.  (186-218)  Moll, 
"  Untersuchungen  iiber  Libido  Sexualis,"  cases  5,  6,  9,  15-27,  30,  38,  48,  49, 
53-55,  63,  64,  67,  69,  71,  72,  74,  75,  77,  78.  (219-251)  Havelock  Ellis, 
"  Bulletin  of  the  Psychol.  Section,"  1895,  Dec,  vol.  3,  No.  iv.  (252) 
Spaink,  "Psych.   Bladen,"  1893,  3. 


CONGENITAL   ANTIPATHIC   SEXUAL   INSTINCT   IN    MAN.      311 

act,  however,  which  is  repugnant  to  perverted  individuals 
that  are  not  defective  morally,  much  in  the  same  way 
as  it  is  to  normal  men.  The  statement  of  urnings  is 
remarkable,  that  the  adequate  sexual  act  with  persons 
of  the  same  sex  gives  them  a  feeling  of  great  satisfaction 
and  accession  of  strength,  while  satisfaction  by  solitary 
onanism,  or  by  enforced  coitus  with  a  woman,  affects 
them  in  an  unfavourable  way,  making  them  miserable 
and  increasing  their  neurasthenic  symptoms. 

As  to  the  frequency^  of  the  occurrence  of  the  anomaly, 
it  is  difficult  to  reach  a  just  conclusion,  since  those  affected 
with  it  break  from  their  reserve  but  infrequently  ;  and  in 
criminal  cases  the  urning  with  perversion  of  sexual  instinct 
is  usually  classed  with  the  person  given  to  pederasty  for 
simply  vicious  reasons.  According  to  Gasper  and  Tardieu's, 
as  well  as  my  own,  experience,  this  anomaly  is  much  more 
frequent  than  reported  cases  would  lead  us  to  presume. 

Ulrichs  ("  Kritische  Pfeile,"  p.  2,  1880)  declares  that, 
on  an  average,  there  is  one  person  affected  with  antipathic 
sexual  instinct  to  every  200  mature  men,  or  to  every  800 
of  the  population  ;  and  that  the  percentage  among  the 
Magyars  and   South   Slavs   is   still    greater, — statements 

^  That  inversion  of  the  sexual  instinct  is  not  infrequent  is  proved, 
among  other  things,  by  the  circumstance  that  it  is  frequently  a  subject 
in  novels.  Chevalier  (op.  cit.)  points  out  in  French  literature,  besides  the 
novels  of  Balzac,  like  "La  Passion  au  Desert  "  (treating  of  bestiality)  and 
"  Sarrazine  "  (treating  of  the  love  of  a  woman  for  a  eunuch),  Diderot's 
"  La  Religieuse  "  (a  story  of  one  given  to  amor  lesbicus) ;  Balzac's  "  La 
Fille  aux  Yeux  d'Or  "  (amor  lesbicus)  ;  Th.  Gautier's  "  Mademoiselle  de 
Maupin  "  ;  Feydeau's  "  La  Comtesse  de  Clialis  "  ;  Flaubert's  "Salammbo," 
etc.  Belot's  "  Mademoiselle  Giraud,  ma  Femme  "  may  also  be  mentioned 
(now  translated  into  English).  It  is  interesting  that  the  heroines  of  these 
(Lesbian)  novels  appear  in  the  character  and  rdlc  of  the  husband  of  a  lover 
of  the  same  sex,  and  that  their  love  is  extremely  passionate.  Moreover, 
the  neuropathic  foundation  of  this  sexual  perversion  does  not  escape  the 
writers.  This  theme  is  treated  in  German  literature  in  "  Fridolin's 
heimliche  Ehe,"  by  Wilbrand ;  in  "Brick  and  Brack  oder  Licbt  im 
Schatten,"  by  Emerich  Graf  Stadion  ;  also  by  Balduin  Groller,  "  Prinz 
Klotz ".  The  oldest  urning  romance  is  probably  that  published  by 
Fetronius  at  Home,  under  the  Empire,  under  the  title  "  Satyricon  ". 


342  PSYcnorATHiA  sexualis. 

which  may  be  regarded  as  untrustworthy.  The  subject 
of  one  of  my  cases  knows  personally,  at  his  home  (13,000 
inhabitants),  fourteen  urnings.  He  further  declares  that 
he  is  acquainted  with  at  least  eighty  in  a  city  of  6(3,000 
inhabitants).  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  this  man,  otber- 
wise  worthy  of  belief,  makes  no  distinction  between  the 
congenital  and  the  acquired  anomaly. 

1.  Psychical  Hermaphroditism.^ 

The  characteristic  mark  of  this  degree  of  inversion  of 
the  sexual  instinct  is  that,  by  the  side  of  the  pronounced 
sexual  instinct  and  desire  for  the  same  sex,  a  desire 
toward  the  opposite  sex  is  present ;  but  the  latter  is 
much  weaker  and  is  manifested  episodically  only,  while 
the  homo-sexuality  is  primary,  and,  in  time  and  intensity, 
forms  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  vita  sexualis. 

The  hetero-sexual  instinct  may  be  but  rudimentary, 
manifesting  itself  simply  in  unconscious  (dream)  life  ;  or 
(episodically,  at  least)  it  may  be  powerfully  exhibited. 

The  sexual  instinct  toward  the  opposite  sex  may  be 
strengthened  by  the  e.xercise  of  will  and  self-control ;  by 
moral  treatment,  and  possibly  by  hypnotic  suggestion  ; 
by  improvement  of  the  constitution  and  the  removal  of 
neuroses  (neurasthenia) ;  but  especially  by  abstinence  from 
masturbation. 

However,  there  is  always  the  danger  that  homo-sexual 
feelings,  in  that  they  are  the  most  powerful,  may  become 
permanent,  and  lead  to  enduring  and  exclusive  antipathic 
sexual  instinct.  This  is  especially  to  be  feared  as  a 
result  of  the  influences  of  masturbation  (just  as  in 
acquired  inversion  of  the  sexual  instinct)  and  its  neuras- 
thenia and  consequent  exacerbations  ;  and,  further,  it  is 
to  be  found  as  a  consequence  of  unfavourable  experiences 

*  Cf.  author's  work,  "  Uebcr  psychosexuales  Zwittcrthum,"  in  the 
"Internationales  Centralblatt  f.  d.  Physiologic  u.  Pathologic  dor  Harn- 
und  Sexualorganc,"  Bd.  i..  Heft  2. 


PSYCHICAL    HERMAPHRODITISM.  343 

in  sexual  intercourse  with  persons  of  the  opposite  sex 
(defective  feeling  of  pleasure  in  coitus,  failure  in  coitus 
on  account  of  weakness  of  erection  and  premature 
ejaculation,  infection). 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  aesthetic  and 
ethical  sympathy  with  persons  of  the  opposite  sex  may 
favour  the  development  of  hetero-sexual  desires.  Thus 
it  happens  that  the  individual,  according  to  the  predomi- 
nance of  favourable  or  unfavourable  influences,  experiences 
now  hetero-sexual,  now  homo-sexual,  feeling. 

It  seems  to  me  probable  that  such  hermaphrodites 
from  constitutional  taint  are  not  infrequent.^  Since  they 
attract  very  little  attention  socially,  and  since  such  secrets 
of  married  life  are  only  exceptionally  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  physician,  it  is  at  once  apparent  why 
this  interesting  and  practically  important  transitional 
group  to  the  group  of  absolute  inverted  sexuality  has 
thus  far  escaped  scientific  investigation. 

Many  cases  of  frigiditas  uxoris  and  mariti  may  possibly 
depend  upon  this  anomaly.  Sexual  intercourse  with  the 
opposite  sex  is,  in  itself,  possible.  At  any  rate,  in  cases 
of  this  degree,  no  horror  sexus  alterius  exists.  Here  is 
a  fertile  field  for  the  application  of  medical  and  moral 
therapeutics  (v.  infra). 

The  differential  diagnosis  from  acquired  antipathic 
sexual  instinct  may  present  difficulties  ;  for,  in  such  cases, 
as  long  as  the  vestiges  of  a  normal  sexual  instinct  are  not 
absolutely  lost,  the  actual  symptoms  are  the  same  {v.  infra). 

In  the  first  degree,  the  sexual  satisfaction  of  homo- 
sexual impulses  consists  in  passive  and  mutual  onanism 
and  coitus  inter  femora. 

Case   113.     Antipathic  sexual  instinct  with  sex^tal  satis- 

1  This  idea  is  supported  by  the  statemonta  of  an  unmarried  urning, 
which  Dr.  Moll,  of  Berlin,  kindly  comraunicatcd  to  me.  lie  oould  report 
a  number  of  cases  of  his  acquaintance,  in  which  married  men  at  the  same 
time  had  "  relations  "  with  men. 


344  PSYCIIOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

faction  in  heterosexual  intercourse.  Mr.  Z.,  aged  thirty-six, 
consulted  me  on  account  of  an  anomaly  of  his  sexual 
feelings,  which  had  become  a  matter  of  anxiety  to 
him  in  connection  with  an  intended  marriage.  Patient's 
father  was  neuropathic,  and  suffered  with  nightmare  and 
night-terrors.  Grandfather  was  also  neuropathic  ;  father's 
brother  an  idiot.  Patient's  mother  and  her  family  were 
healthy  and  normal  mentally.  The  patient  had  three 
sisters  and  one  brother,  the  latter  being  subject  to  moral 
insanity.  Two  sisters  are  healthy,  and  living  happy 
married  lives. 

As  a  child,  the  patient  was  weak,  nervous,  and  subject 
to  night-terrors,  like  his  father  ;   but  he  never  had  any 
severe  illness  except  coxitis,  as  a  result  of  which  he  limps 
slightly.      Sexual   impulses    were   manifested    early.     At 
eight,   without    any  teaching,   he   began  to  masturbate. 
From  his  fourteenth  year,  ejaculation.     He  was  mentally 
well  endowed,  and  his  principal  interest  was  in  art  and 
hterature.     He  was  always  weak  muscularly,  and  had  no 
inclination  for  boyish  sports    and    later  for  manly  occu- 
pations.    He  had   a  certain  interest  for  female  toilettes, 
ornaments,  and  occupations.     From  the  time  of  puberty 
the  patient  noticed  in  himself  an  inexplicable  inclination 
toward  male  persons.     Youths  of  the  lowest  classes  were 
especially   attractive   to    him.       Cavalry    men    especially 
excited   his    interest.      He    experienced    a   lustful  desire 
to  press  himself  against  such  individuals  from  behind. 
Occasionally,  in  crowds,  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do 
this  ;  and  in  such  an  event  an  intense  feeling  of  pleasure 
passed  over  him.     After  his  twenty-second  year,  on  such 
occasions,  he  now  and  then  had  an  ejaculation.     From 
that  time  ejaculation  occurred  when  a  sympathetic  man 
laid  his  hand  on  the  patient's  thigh.     He  was  now  in 
great    anxiety  lest   he   might    sometime   assault    a   man 
sexually       People   of   the   lower  classes,   wearing  tight, 
brown  trousers,  were  especially  dangerous  for  him.     His 
greatest  pleasure  would  be  to  embrace  such  a  man  and 


PSYCHICAL   HEEMAPHRODITISM.  345 

press  himself  to  him  ;  but,  unfortmiately,  the  movahty  of 
his  country  did  not  allow  such  a  thing.  Pederasty  seemed 
disgusting  to  him. 

It  gave  him  great  pleasure  to  gain  a  sight  of  the 
genitals  of  males.  He  was  always  compelled  to  look  at 
the  genitals  of  every  man  he  met.  In  circuses,  theatres, 
etc.,  only  male  performers  interested  him.  Patient  has 
never  noticed  any  inclination  for  women.  He  does  not 
avoid  them,  even  dances  with  them  on  occasion,  but  he 
never  feels  the  slightest  sensual  excitation  under  such 
circumstances. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  the  patient  was  neurasthenic 
as  a  result  of  his  excessive  masturbation. 

Then  frequent  pollutions  in  sleep  occurred,  which 
weakened  him  very  much.  It  was  only  occasionally  that 
he  dreamed  of  men  when  he  had  pollutions  ;  and  never 
of  women.  A  lascivious  dream-picture  (pederasty)  had 
occurred  but  once.  He  dreamed  of  death-scenes,  of  being 
attacked  by  dogs,  etc.  After  these,  as  before,  he  suffered 
with  great  libido  sexualis.  Often  there  came  up  before  him 
such  lascivious  thoughts  as  gloating  over  the  death  of 
animals  in  the  slaughter-house,  or  allowing  himself  to  be 
whipped  by  boys  ;  but  he  always  overcame  such  desires, 
and  also  the  impulse  to  dress  in  a  military  uniform. 

In  order  to  cure  himself  of  masturbation,  and  to 
thoroughly  satisfy  his  libido,  he  determined  to  frequent 
brothels.  He  first  attempted  sexual  intercourse  with  a 
woman  when  twenty-one,  after  over-indulgence  in  wine. 
The  beauty  of  the  female  form,  and  female  nudity  in 
general,  made  no  impression  on  him.  However,  he  was 
able  to  enjoy  the  act  of  coitus,  and  thereafter  he  visited 
brothels  regularly  for  "  purposes  of  health  ". 

From  this  time  he  took  great  pleasure  in  hearing  men 
tell  stories  of  their  sexual  relations  with  the  opposite  sex. 

Ideas  of  flagellation  would  also  come  to  him  while 
in  a  brothel,  but  the  retention  of  such  fancies  was  not 
essential  for  the  performance  of  coitus.     He  considered 


346  PSYCHOPATniA    SEXUALIS. 

sexual  intercourse  with  prostitutes  only  a  remedy  against 
the  desire  for  masturbation  and  men, — a  kind  of  safety- 
valve  to  prevent  compromising  himself  with  some  man. 

The  patient  now  wishes  to  marry,  but  fears  not  only 
that  he  could  have  no  love  for  a  decent  woman,  but  also 
that  he  might  be  impotent  for  intercourse  with  her. 
Hence  his  thought  and  need  of  medical  advice. 

The  patient  is  very  intelligent,  and  is,  in  all  respects, 
of  masculine  appearance.  In  dress  and  manner  he  presents 
nothing  that  would  attract  attention.  Gait,  voice  and 
frame, — the  pelvis  especially, — masculine  in  character. 
Genitals  of  normal  development.  The  normal  growth 
of  hair  for  a  male  is  abundant.  The  patient's  relatives 
and  friends  have  not  the  slightest  suspicion  of  his  sexual 
anomalies.  In  his  inverted  sexual  fancies  he  has  never 
felt  himself  in  the  role  of  a  woman  toward  a  man.  For 
some  years  he  has  been  entirely  free  from  neurasthenic 
troubles. 

The  question  as  to  whether  he  considered  himself 
a  subject  of  congenital  sexual  inversion  he  could  not 
answer.  It  seems  probable  that  there  was  a  congenital 
weak  inclination  for  the  opposite  sex,  with  a  greater  one 
for  the  same  sex,  which,  as  a  result  of  early  masturbation 
in  consequence  of  the  homo-sexual  instinct,  was  still  more 
weakened,  but  not  reduced  to  nil.  With  the  cessation  of 
masturbation,  the  feeling  for  women  became  in  a  measure 
more  natural,  but  only  in  a  coarsely  sensual  way. 

Since  the  patient  explained  that,  for  reasons  of  family 
and  ])usiness,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  marry,  it  was 
impossible  to  avoid  this  delicate  question. 

Fortunately,  the  patient  limited  his  inquiries  to  the 
question  as  to ,  his  virility  as  a  husband  ;  and  it  was 
necessary  to  reply  that  he  was  virile,  and  that  he  would 
probably  be  so  in  conjugal  intercourse  with  the  wife  of  his 
choice, — at  least,  if  she  were  to  be  in  mental  sympathy 
with  him  ;  besides,  that  he  could  at  all  times  improve  his 
power  by  exercising  his  imagination  in  the  right  direction. 


PSYCHICAL    HERMAPHRODITISM.  347 

The  main  thing  was  to  strengthen  the  sexual  inchnation 
for  the  opposite  sex,  which  was  defective,  hut  not  absolutely 
wanting.  This  could  be  done  by  avoiding  and  opposing 
all  homo-sexual  feelings  and  impulses,  possibly  with  the 
help  of  the  artificial  inhibitory  influences  of  hypnotic 
suggestion  (removal  of  homo-sexual  desires  by  suggestion); 
by  the  excitation  and  exercise  of  normal  sexual  desires 
and  impulses;  by  complete  abstinence  from  masturbation, 
and  eradication  of  the  remnants  of  the  neurasthenic 
condition  of  the  nervous  system  by  means  of  hydro- 
therapy, and  possibly  general  faradisation. 

I  am  indebted  to  a  physician,  aged  thirty,  for .  the 
following  autobiography,  which  is  also  in  other  respects 
noteworthy  :  — 

Case  114.  Psychic  hermaphroditism  ;  abortive  antipathic 
sexual  instinct.  "In  my  ancestry  I  am  rather  predisposed 
hereditarily.  My  grandfather  on  my  father's  side  was  a 
high-liver  and  a  speculator.  My  father  was  a  man  of 
character,  but  for  more  than  thirty  years  he  suffered  with 
folic  circulairc,  without,  however,  being  much  hampered 
by  it  in  business.  My  mother,  Hke  her  father  before  her, 
suffers  with  stenocardiac  attacks.  My  mother's  father 
and  brother  are  said  to  have  been  sexually  hyperaesthetic. 
My  only  sister,  about  nine  years  older  than  myself,  was 
twice  subject  to  attacks  of  eclampsia,  and  during  puberty 
was  religiously  exalted,  and  probably  also  sexually  hyper- 
a)sthetic.  During  many  years  she  suffered  with  severe 
hysterical  neurosis,  but  she  is  now  quite  hardy. 

"  As  an  only  son,  and  born  late,  I  was  the  apple  of 
my  mother's  eye  ;  and  it  is  due  to  her  indefatigable  care 
that  I  survived  childhood,  after  having  passed  througli  all 
the  possible  diseases  of  children  (hydrocephalus,  measles, 
croup,  small -pox,  and,  at  thirteen,  chronic  intestinal 
catarrh,  which  lasted  a  year).  My  mother,  being  herself 
very  religious,  raised  me,  witliout  spoiling  me,  in  a  religious 


348  PSYCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

way,  and  implanted  in  me,  as  ihe  gaiding  moral  principle, 
an  unyielding  devotion  to  duty  which  was  further  carried 
to  an  extreme  in  me  by  a  teacher  whom  I  still  call  a 
friend.  Owing  to  my  dehcate  health,  my  childhood,  in 
greater  part,  was  spent  in  bed.  I  was  given  to  quiet 
occupations,  especially  reading  ;  and  thus  as  a  boy  I  came 
to  be — if  not  hlas4 — premature  at  least.  As  early  as  eight 
or  nine  the  parts  of  books  that  excited  me  most  were 
those  where  injuries  or  operations  that  had  to  be  endured 
by  beautiful  girls  or  ladies  were  described.  Thus  I  was 
thrown  into  great  excitement  by  a  story  in  which  was 
pictured  a  maiden  that  had  run  a  thorn  into  her  foot, 
with  a  boy  taking  it  out  for  her.  Indeed,  every  time 
that  I  looked  upon  this  picture,  which  was  in  nowise 
lascivious,  I  had  an  erection.  Whenever  possible,  I  went 
to  see  chickens  killed  ;  and  if  I  had  missed  that,  I  looked 
at  the  spots  of  blood,  and  stroked  the  warm  bodies  of  the 
birds,  with  pleasurable  shudders.  I  would  emphasise  the 
fact  that  I  have  always  been  a  great  lover  of  animals,  and 
have  felt  disgust  and  pity  while  killing  larger  animals, 
and  even  in  the  vivisection  of  frogs. 

"  The  kiUing  of  chickens  is  still  a  great  sexual  stimulus 
for  me,  and  especially  holding  them,  during  which  I  have 
palpitation  of  the  heart  and  precordial  oppression.  It  is 
of  interest  that  my  father  had  a  passion  for  binding  to- 
gether the  hands  of  girls  and  young  women. 

"  I  think  that  another  of  my  sexual  abnormalities  is 
attributable  to  this  strain  of  cruelty.  As  I  shall  clearly 
describe  later,  one  of  my  favourite  games  was  that  of  an 
improvised  doll-theatre,  where  I  inspired  the  parts  of  my 
companions.  Almost  always  it  was  a  young  girl  who,  at 
the  command  of  her  papa,  whom  I  represented,  had  to 
have  a  painful  operation  done  on  her  foot.  The  more  the 
girl  cried,  the  more  it  gratified  me.  How  I  came  to  hit 
upon  the  foot  as  the  constant  object  of  operation  will  be 
seen  from  the  following:  When  a  very  young  boy,  I 
happened  to   see  my  eldest  sister  change  her  stockings. 


PSYCHICAL    HERMAPHRODITISM.  3-19 

When  she  hastily  hid  her  feet,  my  attention  was  attracted 
and  immediately  the  sight  of  her  bare  feet  to  the  ankles 
came  to  be  the  ideal  of  my  longing.  Naturally,  this  made 
my  sister  very  careful.  This  became  the  occasion  for 
constant  quarrels,  which,  on  my  part,  were  kept  up  with 
all  the  wiles  of  cunning  and  flattery,  and  with  even  ex- 
plosions of  anger,  until  my  seventeenth  year.  In  other 
respects  my  sister  was  to  me  very  indifferent.  Indeed,  her 
kiss  is  repugnant  to  me.  Faute  de  mleux,  I  made  use  of 
the  feet  of  servants  (masculine  feet  had  no  effect  on  me). 
My  greatest  desire  would  have  been  to  cut  the  nails,  or, 
sit  venia  verbo,  the  corns,  on  the  foot  of  a  beautiful  woman. 
My  lustful  dreams  were  concerned  with  these  things. 
Indeed,  I  applied  myself  to  the  study  of  medicine  really 
in  the  expectation  of  gaining  an  opportunity  to  satisfy 
my  desires,  or  cure  them.  Thank  God,  I  attained  the 
latter.  After  undertaking  the  first  dissection  of  the  lower 
extremity  of  a  female,  this  unhappy  desire  was  removed 
from  me.  I  was  unhappy  because  I  was  always  deeply 
ashamed  of  this  impulse.  I  think  I  may  spare  further 
details  concerning  it,  since  this  peculiar  enthusiasm,  which 
even  inspired  me  to  write  verses,  has  been  sufficiently 
described  by  others. 

"  Now  concerning  the  last  phase  of  my  sexual  errors  : 
I  was  about  thirteen,  and  had  just  begun  to  mature,  when 
a  school-mate,  who  happened  to  be  our  guest,  teased  me 
one  night  by  kicking  me  with  his  bare  feet  under  the 
covers.  I  seized  his  foot,  and  immediately  became  greatly 
excited,  and  had  a  pollution  after  it — the  first  that  I  had. 
The  boy  was  peculiarly  girlish  in  form,  and  was  also 
mentally  effeminate.  Again  another  comrade  who  had 
very  small  and  delicate  hands  and  feet,  whom  I  once  saw 
in  a  bath,  caused  unusual  excitement  in  me.  I  thought 
it  a  great  piece  of  good  fortune  to  be  in  bed  with  either 
of  these,  though  any  nearer  sexual  intercourse  than 
embracing  them  never  came  into  my  mind.  Moreover, 
I  always  thrust  such  thoughts  aside  with  aversion.     Some 


350  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

years  later,  when  about  sixteen  or  eighteen,  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  two  other  boys  that  awakened  my  sexual 
feehng.  When  I  played  with  either  of  these,  I  immediately 
had  an  erection.  Both  were  very  energetic  and  lively, 
but  delicately  formed  and  child-like.  At  the  occurrence 
of  puberty  I  lost  interest  in  both  of  them,  though  a  warm 
friendship  was  preserved.  I  should  never  have  allowed 
myself  to  indulge  in  vicious  practices  with  them. 

"  When  I  went  to  the  university,  I  forgot  completely 
these  errors  of  my  libido  sexualis,  and  from  principle  I 
avoided  sexual  intercourse  until  I  was  twenty-four,  despite 
the  contempt  of  my  companions.  When  pollutions  became 
too  frequent,  and  I  began  to  fear  cerebral  neurasthenia 
ex  abstinentia,  I  indulged  in  normal  sexual  intercourse, 
and  although  doing  it  in  a  rather  vigorous  manner,  I 
derived  much  benefit  from  it. 

"  The  especial  field  of  work  to  which  I  have  devoted 
myself  is  responsible  for  the  fact  that  I  am  almost  im- 
potent with  pueltis  publicis,  and  also  for  the  fact  that  the 
naked  form  of  a  woman  disgusts  rather  than  excites  me. 
The  act  always  satisfies  me  the  most,  if,  during  it,  I  can 
keep  the  vision  of  the  face  before  me ;  but  since,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  idea  that  the  girl  near  me  is  enjoyed  by 
another  is  unbearable,  for  years  I  have  found  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  my  mental  comfort,  despite  the  pecuniary 
sacrifice,  to  keep  a  mistress,  and,  indeed,  a  virgin.  Other- 
wise the  most  terrible  jealousy  made  me  absolutely  in- 
capable of  work.  I  must  also  mention  that,  at  thirteen, 
I  fell  in  love  platonically  for  the  first  time  ;  and  since  then 
I  have  often  pined  in  chaste  love.  What  distinguishes 
my  case  from  all  others  is  the  fact  that  I  have  never  once 
masturbated  in  my  life. 

"Some  weeks  ago,  in  sleep,  I  was  frightened  by  a 
dream  of  naked  boys,  from  which  I  awoke  with  an  erection. 
In  conclusion,  I  venture  to  undertake  the  difficult  task  of 
describing  my  present  condition  :  Medium  height,  grace- 
fully formed.     Skull  dolichocephalic,  with  prominence  in 


PSYCHICAL    HEEMAPHRODITISM.  351 

the  occipital  region  ;  circumference,  59  centimetres;  frontal 
prominence  marked  ;  glance  somewhat  neuropathic  ;  pupils 
medium  ;  teeth  very  defective  ;  muscular  structure,  strong 
and  tense ;  abundant  hair,  blonde.  Varicocele  on  the  left 
side ;  frenum  too  short,  which  hindered  me  in  coitus.  I 
severed  it  myself  three  years  ago.  Since  then  ejaculation 
is  retarded,  and  pleasurable  feeling  much  diminished. 
Temperament  choleric.  Quick  of  comprehension  ;  good 
at  drawing  conclusions ;  energetic  ;  for  one  hereditarily 
predisposed,  very  persevering.  I  learn  languages  easily, 
and  have  a  good  ear  for  music,  but  otherwise  I  have  no 
talent  for  the  arts.  I  am  always  ambitious  to  do  my 
duty,  but  I  am  constantly  troubled  with  tadium  vitm,  and 
only  kept  from  attempts  at  suicide  by  my  religion  and 
the  thought  of  my  mother.  Otherwise  I  am  a  typical 
candidate  for  suicide.  I  am  ambitious,  jealous,  have  a 
fear  of  paralysis  ;  left-handed.  I  am  filled  with  socialistic 
ideas.  I  like  adventures,  and  I  am  courageous.  I  have 
decided  never  to  marry." 

Case  115.  Psychical  hermaphrodism.  Hetero-sexual 
feeling  early  interfered  with  by  masturbation,  but  epi- 
sodically very  intense.  Homo-sexual  feeling  ab  origine 
perverse  (sexual  excitation  by  men's  boots). 

Mr.  X.,  of  high  social  position,  aged  .twenty-eight,  came 
to  me  in  September,  1887,  in  a  despairing  mood,  to  con- 
sult me  on  account  of  a  perversion  of  his  vita  scxualis,  which 
made  life  seem  almost  unbearable  to  him,  and  which  had 
repeatedly  brought  him  near  to  suicide.  The  patient  comes 
of  a  family  in  which  neuroses  and  psychoses  have  been 
of  frequent  occurrence.  In  the  father's  family  there  had 
been  marriages  between  first  cousins  for  three  generations. 
The  father  is  said  to  have  been  a  healthy  man,  and  to 
have  lived  morally  in  marriage.  However,  his  father's 
preference  for  fine-looking  servants  seems  remarkable  to 
the  son.  The  mother's  family  is  described  as  eccentric. 
The    mother's    grandfather    and    great-grandfather   died 


352  PSYCHOPATHIA  SEXUALIS. 

melancholic ;  her  sister  was  insane ;  a  daughter  of  the 
grandfather's  brother  was  hysterical,  and  had  nympho- 
mania. Only  three  of  the  mother's  twelve  brothers  and 
sisters  married.  Of  these,  one  brother  was  homo-sexual, 
and  always  nervous  as  a  result  of  excessive  masturbation. 
The  patient's  mother  is  said  to  have  been  a  bigot  of  small 
mental  endowment,  nervous,  irritable,  and  inclined  to 
melancholia. 

Patient  has  a  sister  and  a  brother.  The  brother  is 
neuropathic  and  frequently  melancholic ;  and,  though 
mature  has  never  shown  the  slightest  trace  of  sexual 
inclinations.  The  sister  is  an  acknowledged  beauty,  and 
much  sought  by  gentlemen.  This  lady  is  married,  but 
childless,  as  reported,  owing  to  the  impotence  of  her 
husband.  She  has  always  been  indifferent  to  the  at- 
tentions shown  her  by  men,  but  is  charmed  by  female 
beauty,  and  actually  in  love  with  some  of  her  female 
friends. 

With  respect  to  himself,  the  patient  asserts  that  when 
four  years  old  he  dreamed  of  handsome  jockeys  wearing 
shining  boots.  He  never  dreamed  of  women  when  he 
grew  older.  His  nightly  pollutions  were  always  induced 
by  "boot-dreams".  From  his  fourth  year  he  had  a 
peculiar  partiality  for  men,  or,  more  correctly,  for  lackeys 
wearing  shining  boots.  At  first  they  only  excited  his 
interest,  but,  with  development  of  his  sexual  functions, 
the  sight  of  them  caused  powerful  erections  and  lustful 
pleasure.  It  was  only  servants'  boots  that  affected  him ; 
the  same  kind  of  boots  on  persons  of  like  social  station 
were  without  effect  on  him.  In  a  homo-sexual  sense,  there 
was  no  sexual  impulse  connected  with  these  situations. 
Even  the  thought  of  such  a  possibility  was  disgusting  to 
him.  At  times,  however,  he  had  sensually  coloured  ideas 
— like  being  his  servant's  servant,  and  drawing  off  his 
boots ;  but  the  idea  of  being  stepped  on  by  him,  or  of 
having  to  blacken  his  boots,  was  most  pleasing.  The 
pride  of  the  aristocrat  rose  up  against  such  thoughts.     In 


PSYCHICAL   HEEMArHEODITISM.  353 

general,  these  notions  about  boots  were  disgusting  and 
painful  to  him. 

Sexual  instinct  was  early  and  powerfully  developed. 
It  first  found  expression  in  indulgence  in  sensual  thoughts 
about  boots,  and,  after  puberty,  in  dreams  accompanied  by 
pollutions  ;  otherwise,  mental  and  physical  development 
was  undisturbed.  Patient  was  well  endowed  mentally — 
learned  easily,  finished  his  studies,  and  became  an  officer. 
On  account  of  his  distinguished,  manly  appearance  and 
his  high  position,  he  was  much  sought  in  society. 

He  characterises  himself  as  a  clever,  quiet,  strong- 
willed,  but  superficial  man.  He  asserts  that  he  is  a 
passionate  hunter  and  rider,  and  that  he  has  never  had 
any  inclination  for  feminine  pursuits.  In  the  society  of 
ladies  he  has  always  been  reserved  ;  dancing  always  tired 
him.  He  never  had  an  interest  in  any  lady  of  high 
social  position.  As  for  women,  only  the  buxom  peasant 
girls,  such  as  are  the  models  of  painters  in  Kome,  had 
taken  his  fancy.  He  had,  however,  never  felt  any  sexual 
interest  even  in  such  representatives  of  the  female  sex. 
In  the  theatre  and  circus  only  male  performers  had 
attracted  him ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  caused  him 
no  sensual  feelings.  As  for  men,  only  their  boots  excited 
him,  and,  indeed,  only  when  the  wearers  belonged  to  the 
servant  class  and  were  handsome  men.  Men  of  his  own 
position,  wearing  ever  so  fine  boots,  were  absolutely 
indifferent  to  him. 

With  reference  to  his  sexual  inclinations,  the  patient 
IS  still  uncertain  whether  he  feels  these  more  toward  the 
opposite  sex  or  his  own.  He  is  inclined  to  think  that 
originally  he  had  more  inclination  for  women,  but  that 
this  sympathy  was,  in  any  case,  very  weak.  He  states 
with  certainty  that  the  sight  of  a  naked  man  made  no 
impression  on  him,  and  that  thc3  sight  of  male  genitals 
was  even  repugnant  to  him.  In  the  case  of  women,  this 
was  not  exactly  the  case;  but  even  the  most  beautiful 
feminine    form    did    not   excite   him    sexually.     When  a 

23 


354  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

young  officer,  he  was  now  and  then  compelled  to  accom- 
pany his  comrades  to  brothels.  He  was  the  more  easily 
persuaded  to  this,  since  he  hoped  by  this  means  to  get 
rid  of  his  vile  partiality  for  boots ;  but  he  was  impotent 
unless  he  brought  the  thought  of  boots  to  his  aid.  Under 
such  circumstances,  the  act  of  cohabitation  was  normally 
performed,  but  without  pleasurable  feeling.  Patient  felt 
no  impulse  to  intercourse  with  women,  always  requiring 
some  external  cause — i.e.,  persuasion.  Left  to  himself 
his  vita  sexualis  consisted  in  revelling  in  ideas  about  boots, 
and  in  corresponding  dreams  with  pollutions.  Since  more 
and  more  there  became  connected  with  them  the  impulse 
to  kiss  his  servant's  boots,  to  draw  them  off,  etc.,  the 
patient  determined  to  use  every  means  to  rid  himself  of 
this  disgusting  desire,  which  deeply  wounded  his  pride. 
At  that  time,  being  in  his  twentieth  year,  and  in  Paris, 
he  recalled  a  very  beautiful  peasant  girl,  who  lived  in  his 
distant  home.  He  hoped,  with  her  assistance,  to  free 
himself  of  his  sexual  perversion.  He  went  home,  and 
tried  to  win  the  girl's  favour.  He  asserts  that  at  that 
time  he  was  deeply  in  love  with  this  person,  and  that 
the  sight  of  her,  or  the  touch  of  her  dress,  gave  him 
sensual  pleasure ;  and,  when  she  once  kissed  him,  he  had 
a  powerful  erection.  After  about  a  year  and  a  half,  the 
patient  succeeded  in  gaining  his  desires  with  this  person. 

He  was  potent,  but  ejaculated  tardily  (ten  to  twenty 
minutes),  and  never  had  a  pleasurable  feeling  in  the  act. 

After  about  a  year  and  a  half  of  sexual  intercourse 
with  this  girl,  his  love  for  her  grew  cold,  because  he 
did  not  find  her  so  "  fine  and  pure  "  as  he  wished.  From 
this  time  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  call  upon  ideas 
about  boots  for  help,  which  had  been  latent,  in  order  to 
be  potent  in  sexual  intercourse  with  her.  In  proportion  as 
his  power  failed,  these  ideas  arose  spontaneously.  There- 
after he  had  coitus  with  other  women.  Now  and  then, 
especially  when  the  woman  was  in  sympathy  with  him, 
the  act  took  place  without  any  assistance  of  imagination. 


PSYCHICAL   HEEMAPHRODITISM.  355 

It  once  happened  that  the  patient  committed  a  rape. 
It  is  remarkable  that  on  this  single  occasion  he  had  a 
pleasurable  feeling  in  the  (forced)  act.  Immediately  after 
the  deed  he  had  a  feeling  of  disgust.  When,  an  hour 
after  the  forced  indulgence,  he  had  coitus  with  the  same 
v/oman,  with  her  consent,  he  experienced  no  feeling  of 
pleasure. 

With  the  decline  of  virility — i.e.,  when  it  was  main- 
tained only  with  ideas  about  boots — libido  for  the  opposite 
sex  decreased.  The  patient's  slight  libido  and  weak 
inclination  for  women  are  evidenced  by  the  fact  that, 
while  he  still  sustained  sexual  relations  with  the  peasant 
girl,  he  began  to  masturbate.  He  learned  the  vice  from 
^^  Bo^Lsseaii,''s  Confessions,"  the  book  accidentally  falling 
into  his  hands.  The  boot  -  fancies  immediately  linked 
themselves  with  corresponding  impulses.  He  then  had 
violent  erections,  masturbated,  and  ejaculation  afforded 
him  a  lively  feeling  of  pleasure,  which  was  denied  to  him 
in  coitus ;  and  at  first  he  felt  himself  mentally  brighter 
and  fresher,  as  a  result  of  masturbation. 

In  time,  however,  symptoms  of  sexual,  and  later  on 
of  general  neurasthenia,  with  spinal  irritation,  appeared. 
He  then  temporarily  gave  up  masturbation,  and  sought 
his  first  love ;  but  she  was  now  more  than  ever  indifferent 
to  him.  Since  he  finally  became  impotent,  even  when 
he  called  ideas  of  boots  to  his  assistance,  he  gave  up 
women  entirely,  and  again  practised  masturbation  ;  which 
protected  him  from  the  impulse  to  kiss  and  blacken,  etc., 
servants'  boots.  At  the  same  time,  he  felt  his  sexual 
position  keenly.  He  again  occasionally  attempted  coitus, 
and  was  successful  in  it  as  soon  as  he  thought  of  blackened 
boots.  After  continued  abstinence  from  masturbation,  he 
was  at  times  successful  in  coitus  without  any  artificial 
aid. 

The  patient  says  that  his  sexual  needs  are  intense. 
If  no  ejaculation  has  taken  place  for  a  long  time,  he 
becomes  congestive,   psychically  much   excited,  and  tor- 


356  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

mented  by  repugnant  images  of  boots,  so  that  he  is  forced 
to  have  coitus,  or,  preferably,  to  masturbate. 

During  the  past  year  his  moral  position  became  most 
painfully  complicated  by  the  fact  that,  as  the  last  of  a 
wealthy  line  of  high  position,  and  at  the  importunate 
desire  of  his  parents,  he  must  marry.  The  bride  is  of 
rare  beaut}^  and  mentally  in  perfect  sympathy  with  him  ; 
but,  as  a  woman,  she  is  as  indifferent  to  him  as  any 
other,  .^sthetically  she  satisfies  him  "  as  any  work  of 
art  would  "  ;  in  his  eyes,  she  is  simply  ideal.  To  honour 
her  in  a  platonic  way  would  be  happiness  worth  striving 
for  ;  but  to  possess  her  as  a  wife  is  a  painful  thought.  He 
is  certain  beforehand  that  with  her  he  will  be  impotent, 
save  with  the  help  of  ideas  of  boots.  To  use  such  means, 
however,  is  in  opposition  to  his  respect  and  his  moral  and 
sesthetic  feelings  for  the  lady.  Were  he  to  soil  her  with 
such  thoughts,  she  would  lose,  in  his  eyes,  all  her  aesthetic 
value  ;  and  then  he  would  become  impotent  for  her, 
and  she  would  become  repugnant  to  him.  The  patient 
considers  his  position  one  of  despair,  and  confesses  that 
he  has  of  late  been  repeatedly  near  suicide. 

He  is  a  man  of  much  intelligence,  and  decidedly  of 
masculine  appearance,  with  abundant  growth  of  beard, 
deep  voice,  and  normal  genitals.  The  eye  has  a  neuro- 
pathic expression.  No  signs  of  degeneration.  Symptoms 
of  spinal  neurasthenia.  It  was  possible  to  reassure  the 
patient,  and  give  him  hope  of  his  future. 

The  medical  advice  consisted  in  means  for  combatinfj 
the  neurasthenia,  and  the  interdiction  of  masturbation 
and  indulgence  of  the  fancy  in  images  of  boots,  in  the 
hope  that,  with  the  removal  of  the  neurasthenia,  cohabi- 
tation without  ideas  of  boots  would  become  possible  ;  and 
that,  in  time,  the  patient  would  become  morally  and 
physically  capable  of  marriage. 

In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1888,  the  patient  wrote  to 
me  that  he  had  resolutely  resisted  masturbation  and  his 
imagination.     In  the  interval  he  had  had  but  one  dream 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS.  357 

about  boots,  and  scarcely  a  pollution.  He  had  been  free 
from  homo-sexual  inclinations,  but,  in  spite  of  this,  there 
was  often  considerable  sexual  excitement,  without  any- 
thing like  adequate  libido  for  woman.  In  this  deplorable 
situation,  he  was  now  compelled  by  circumstances  to 
marry  in  three  months. 

2.  Homo-Sexual  Individuals,  or  Urnings. 

In  contradistinction  from  the  preceding  group  of 
psycho-sexual  hermaphrodites,  there  are  here  present,  ah 
origine,  sexual  desires  and  inclinations  for  persons  of  the 
same  sex  exclusively ;  but,  in  contrast  with  the  following 
group,  the  anomaly  is  hmited  to  the  vita  sexualis,  and 
does  not  more  deeply  and  seriously  affect  character  and 
mental  personality. 

The  vita  sexualis  of  these  urnings,  mutatis  mutandis,  is 
entirely  like  that  in  normal  hetero-sexual  love ;  but,  since 
it  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  natural  feeling,  it  becomes 
a  caricature,  and  this  the  more,  since  these  individuals, 
at  the  same  time,  and  as  a  rule,  are  subject  to  hyperas- 
thesia  sexualis ;  wherefore,  their  love  for  their  own  sex  is 
emotional  and  passionate. 

The  urning  loves  and  deifies  the  male  object  of  his 
affections,  just  as  the  normal  man  idealises  the  woman 
he  loves.  He  is  capable  of  the  greatest  sacrifice  for  him, 
and  experiences  the  pangs  of  unhappy,  often  unrequited, 
love ;  he  suffers  from  the  disloyalty  of  the  beloved  object, 
and  is  subject  to  jealousy,  etc. 

The  attention  of  the  male-loving  man  is  given  only  to 
male  dancers,  actors,  athletes,  statues,  etc.  The  sight  of 
female  charms  is  indifferent  to  him,  if  not  repulsive.  A 
naked  woman  is  disgusting  to  him,  while  the  sight  of 
male  genitals,  hips,  etc.,  affords  him  infinite  pleasure. 

Bodily  contact  with  a  sympathetic  man  induces  a 
thrill  of  delight ;  and,  since  such  individuals  are  in  most 
cases  sexually  neurasthenic  (congenitally  or  from  onanism 


358  PSTCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

or  enforced  abstinence  from  sexual  intercourse),  under 
such  circumstances  ejaculation  is  very  easily  induced, 
which  even  in  the  most  intimate  intercourse  with  women 
cannot  be  induced  at  all,  or  only  by  mechanical  means. 
The  sexual  act  with  a  man,  in  many  instances,  affords 
pleasure,  and  leaves  behind  a  feeling  of  comfort.  Should 
the  urning  be  able  to  force  himself  to  coitus,  in  which,  as 
a  rule,  disgust  has  the  effect  of  an  inhibitory  concept,  and 
makes  the  act  impossible,  then  his  feeling  is  something 
like  that  of  a  man  compelled  to  take  disgusting  food  or 
drink.  However,  experience  teaches  that  not  infrequently 
urnings  belonging  to  this  group  marry,  either  from  ethical 
or  social  considerations. 

Such  unfortunates  are  relatively  potent,  in  so  far  that 
in  marital  intercourse  they  incite  their  imagination,  and, 
instead  of  thinking  of  their  wives,  they  call  up  the  image 
of  some  loved  male  person.  But  for  them  coitus  is  a 
great  sacrifice,  and  no  pleasure.  It  makes  them,  for  days 
after,  nervous  and  miserable.  If  such  urnings,  by  means 
of  powerful  stimulation  of  their  fancy,  or  under  the 
influence  of  alcohoHc  drink,  or  by  erections  induced  by  an 
overfilled  bladder,  etc.,  are  not  enabled  to  overcome  the 
inhibitory  feelmgs  and  ideas,  then  they  are  entirely  im- 
potent ;  while  the  mere  touch  of  a  man  may  induce  intense 
erection,  and  even  ejaculation. 

Dancing  with  a  woman  is  unpleasant  to  an  urning, 
but  to  dance  with  a  man,  especially  one  with  an  attractive 
form,  is  to  him  the  greatest  of  pleasures. 

The  male  urning,  if  he  possess  higher  culture,  is  not 
opposed  to  non-sexual  intercourse  with  women,  when  by 
mind  and  refinement  they  make  conversation  charming 
It  is  only  woman  in  her  sexual  role  that  he  abhors. 

In  this  degree  of  sexual  degeneration,  character  and 
occupation  correspond  with  the  sex  which  the  individual 
represents.  Sexual  perversion  remains  an  isolated  anom- 
aly of  the  mental  benig  of  the  individual,  deeply  affecting 
the  social    existence.      In    accordance   with   this,    these 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS.  359 

individuals  feel  themselves  in  the  sexual  act  in  the  same 
role  which  would  naturally  be  theirs  in  hetero-sexual 
intercourse. 

However,  transitions  to  group  3  occur,  inasmuch  as 
sometimes  the  passive  rdle  which  corresponds  with  homo- 
sexual feeling  is  thought  of  or  desired,  or  at  least  forms 
the  subject  of  dreams.  Moreover,  leanings  to  occupations 
and  tendencies  of  taste  are  manifested  which  do  not 
correspond  with  the  sex  of  the  individual.  In  many  cases 
one  gets  the  impression  that  such  symptoms  are  artificial, 
the  result  of  educational  influences ;  in  other  cases,  that 
they  represent  deeper  acquired  degenerations  of  the 
original  anomaly,  superinduced  by  perverse  sexual  activity 
(masturbation),  and  analogous  to  the  signs  of  progressive 
degeneration  observed  in  acquired  sexual  inversion. 

Regarding  the  manner  of  sexual  satisfaction,  it  must 
be  stated  that  with  many  male  urnings  the  mere  embrace 
is  sufficient  to  induce  ejaculation,  subject  as  they  are  to 
irritable  weakness  of  the  sexual  apparatus.  In  cases  of 
sexual  hypersesthesia,  and  of  paresthesia  of  the  moral 
sense,  great  pleasure  is  afforded  by  intercourse  with 
persons  of  the  lowest  condition. 

On  the  same  basis,  desires  to  commit  pederasty  (active, 
of  course)  and  other  similar  aberrations  occur,  though 
it  is  but  seldom,  and  apparently  only  in  cases  of  moral 
defect,  and  by  reason  of  libido  nimiain  individuals  especially 
passionate,  that  active  pederasty  is  indulged  in. 

The  sexual  desire  of  mature  urnings,  in  contradistinction 
to  old  and  decrepit  debauchees,  who  prefer  boys  {and  indulge  in 
pederasty  by  preference),  seems  never  to  be  directed  to  immature 
males.  Only  for  want  of  better  material,  and  in  case  of 
violent  passion,  does  the  urning  become  dangerous  to  boys. 

Case  116.  Mr.  A.,  thirty  years  of  age,  artist.  Mother 
heavily  tainted  psychopathically.  Brother  sexually  in- 
verted. 

A.    is    neuropathic    from    childhood  ;    with    puberty 


360  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

neurasthenic.  At  the  age  of  six  he  felt  extremely  happy 
when  it  became  his  lot  to  sit  near  a  certain  chmn  in 
school. 

With  puberty  he  began  to  masturbate,  thinking  during 
the  act  of  sympathetic  playfellows.  Pollutions  accom- 
panied by  homo-sexual  dreams. 

He  does  not  fancy  the  passive  role  towards  the  male 
sex.  When  twenty  years  of  age,  but  more  so  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  he  was  very  much  in  love  with  men  fully 
matured.  Woman  possessed  no  charm  for  him.  He 
made  several  attempts  at  coitus  cum  j^uclUs,  succeeded, 
but  derived  no  pleasure  either  mentally  or  physically 
from  it,  and  soon  relinquished  all  intimate  intercourse 
with  the  female  sex.  Only  men  of  manly  appearance, 
of  high  education  and  refined  manners  impress  him. 
He  cannot  resist  such  men.  A.  contends  that  he  is  not 
sensual,  but  that  he  takes  interest  more  in  the  soul  than 
in  the  body  of  others. 

His  sexual  gratification  consists  in  kisses  and  em- 
braces, which  produce  ejaculation,  with  intense  lust.  This 
prevents  masturhatio  ynutita,  and  other  immoral  actions, 
which  disgust  him.  Faute  de  micux,  he  has  at  times 
indulged  in  masturhatio  solitaria. 

He  is  of  decidedly  masculine  appearance,  without  any 
signs  of  degeneration. 

He  acknowledges  his  sexual  position  to  be  abnormal, 
but  feels  quite  happy  in  it. 

Case  117.  Mr.  U.,  twenty-four  years  old,  technician. 
Father  insane.     He  has  three  insane  relatives. 

At  the  age  of  seven,  during  a  spell  of  fever,  and  even 
without  the  slightest  knowledge  of  sexual  differences, 
he  began  to  be  interested  in  the  'posteriora  of  his  male 
companions. 

This  inclination  disappeared  at  the  age  of  twelve, 
when  he  was  introduced  to  the  secrets  of  the  vita  sexualis. 
His  sexual  instinct  matured  early  and  strongly.     Pollu- 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS.  361 

tions  were  always  accompanied  by  homo-sexual  dreams. 
Woman  disgusted  him.  For  years  he  was,  at  the  waning 
of  daylight,  impelled  with  an  overruling  desire  to  converse 
with  men. 

He  would  follow  men  in  the  street  for  hours  until  quite 
exhausted.  He  burned  with  the  desire  to  sleep  with  a  man 
and  touch  his  genitals.  Up  till  now  he  was  unsuccessful 
in  this.  As  a  last  remedy,  he  would  resort  to  auto- 
masturbation.  He  feels  his  position  keenly,  for  fear 
of  succumbing  to  his  degenerate  taste.  U.  gives  the 
impression  of  being  a  person  of  peculiar  habits,  and 
wanting  in  mental  equilibrium.  Genitals  are  normal. 
Personal  appearance  decidedly  masculine. 

Case  118.  D.,  twenty-four  years  old,  student.  Father 
was  emotional,  of  changeable  temperament,  irascible, 
petulant,  eccentric  in  his  views  and  actions,  of  weak  will- 
power, distracted,  and  had  neuropathic  eyes  ;  in  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  he  was  addicted  to  drink,  and  died  of 
phthisis  at  the  age  of  forty  ;  he  possessed  no  psychopathic 
qualities  of  value. 

D.'s  mother  was  healthy  ;  but  an  aunt  of  hers  was 
psychopathic,  and  committed  suicide,  whilst  one  of  her 
cousins  was  a  drunkard  and  hypersexual. 

D.  is  of  lank  but  manly  form,  well  bearded  for  a 
person  of  his  age.  Cranium  asymetrical,  frame  masculine. 
Genitals  well  formed  and  normal. 

D.  was  always  rather  delicate,  nervous,  emotional, 
excitable,  unsteady,  but  talented  and  given  to  flattery. 
His  sexual  instinct  awoke  at  an  early  age.  He  inclined 
exclusively  to  his  own  sex,  but  for  some  time  indulged 
only  in  auto  -  masturbation.  With  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  became  markedly  cerebro-asthenic,  had  to  interrupt 
his  studies  and  seek  relief  from  nervous  ailments  in 
hydropathic  establishments. 

When  arrived  at  maturity  he  was  more  drawn  to  the 
urning  than  to  the  normally  developed  man,  more  to  the 


362  PSYCHOrATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

youth  than  the  matured  male.  His  fetich  was  the  voice, 
the  higher  register  of  the  sympathetic  young  man's 
voice  enchanted  his  psycho-sexual  feelings,  whilst  a  bass 
voice  simply  repulsed  him.  Fetichism  of  garments  is 
also  indicated,  in  so  far  as  decidedly  masculine  dress,  such 
as  the  military  garb,  etc.,  is  repulsive  to  him ;  on  the 
contrary,  evening  dress  attracts. 

D.  considers  his  nature  to  be  that  of  a  female.  He 
takes  no  interest  in  virile  sports  ;  although  character- 
ologically  or  anthropologically  he  betrays  no  signs  of 
female  character,  and  even  to  the  eye  of  the  expert  he 
does  not  present  the  appearance  of  an  urning. 

His  homo-sexual  activity  consists  in  masturbatio  mutua, 
and  at  times  receptio  membri  alterius  in  ore.  But  not  even 
during  this  act  nor  in  nocturnal  pollutions  does  his  fancy 
assume  the  feminine  role.  He  has  not  the  slightest 
interest  for  women,  and  never  approaches  them. 

During  the  last  three  years  D.  has  become  a  morphia 
eater  to  soothe  his  neurasthenic  troubles.  Upon  my 
advice  he  went  to  a  hydropathic  institution  and  had 
himself  also  hypnotised.  This,  however,  produced  only 
torpor,  but  the  patient  was  easily  amenable  to  suggestion. 
Neurasthenia  disappeared  ;  he  began  to  master  his  weak- 
ness for  masturbation,  and  to  have  erotic  dreams  of  women, 
but,  trying  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with  them,  he  was 
impotent,  and  succeeded  only  in  passive  masturbation  by 
female  hands,  which  gave  him  a  sort  of  gratification. 

For  some  months  after  protracted  treatment  improve- 
ment continued,  but  then  the  patient  relapsed  into  the 
practice  of  masturbation,  became  again  neurasthenic, 
yielded  to  morphinism,  and  his  whole  sexual  intercourse 
was  directed  to  homo-sexual  acts. 

Case  119.  Mr.  G.,  twenty-three  years.  Came  to 
consult  me  on  account  of  constitutional  neurasthenia, 
coupled  with  insomnia  which  had  been  very  acute  for 
several  months  past. 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS.  363 

He  comes  of  a  family  personally  well  known  to  me, 
most  members  of  which  are  affected  with  neuroses,  and 
other  conditions  of  psychical  degeneration. 

He  confesses  to  being  an  urning.  Had  even  at  the 
age  of  seven  erections  when  bathing  with  other  boys. 
He  repeatedly  fell  in  love  with  school-mates!  With 
puberty  masturbation,  and  pollutions  accompanied  by 
homo-sexual  dreams.  Since  the  age  of  eighteen  repeated 
attempts  at  coitus  cum  muliere  were  abortive  on  account 
of  impotence,  ex  horrore  fcmmcB.  For  the  last  two  years 
he  has  given  up  women's  society,  and  practised  exclusively 
homo-sexual  intercourse.  He  prefers  men  of  the  age  of 
twenty  to  thirty.  He  plays  the  role  of  the  man.  His 
passions  and  courtings  are  those  of  the  male.  He  asserts 
that  he  feels  himself  refreshed  mentally  and  bodily  by 
homo-sexual  intercourse,  which  he  practises  inter  femora. 
Once  he  tried  active  pederasty,  but  desisted  on  the  ground 
of  ethical  sentiments.  For  the  last  few  months  he  has 
maintained  permanent  intercourse  with  a  man  of  his 
own  proclivities. 

Previously  he  was  often  impotent  in  the  homo-sexual 
act.  This  was  caused  by  want  of  cleanliness  on  the  part 
of  his  companion,  or  because  of  the  thought  that  he  had 
to  pay  money  for  the  privilege  ;  in  other  cases  bashfulness, 
on  account  of  the  high  position  held  by  the  other  party. 

G.  understands  that  his  sexual  instinct  is  abnormal, 
but  he  finds  gratification  in  it,  and  seeks  no  change. 

Anatomically  and  anthropologically  G.  presents  decid- 
edly the  appearance  of  a  man  ;  his  genitals  are  normal. 

Case  120.  Mr.  Z.,  aged  fifty  years,  married,  in  the 
Civil  Service.  P.  Father  psychopathic,  whose  sister  was 
an  inmate  of  an  asylum  for  the  insane  until, her  death. 

Z.,  whose  sister  was  also  a  patient  in  a  lunatic  asylum, 
suffered  up  to  his  eighth  year  from  convulsions,  and  since 
pubescence  from  cephalalgia ;  at  school  he  was  highly 
eccentric  and  intractal  le. 


364  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen,  whilst  at  a  Jesuit  college,  he 
was  one  night  assaulted  by  a  school-mate,  who  explained 
to  him  the  sexual  functions,  and  persuaded  him  to  consent 
to  coitus  inter  femora. 

Z.  took  pleasure  in  the  act,  and  in  his  dreams  and 
when  awake  revelled  in  the  memory  of  this  nocturnal 
adventure,  always  imagining  that  he  was  taking  the 
passive  role,  forced  upon  him  by  superior  strength. 

The  intercourse  with  the  youthful  seducer  developed 
into  a  relation  such  as  only  exists  between  husband  and 
wife,  and  consisted  in  mutual  masturbation  for  a  period 
of  twelve  months.  This  time  Z.  considers  the  happiest 
of  his  life.  Death  severed  the  connection  in  1864,  the 
friend  succumbing  to  cerebral  paralysis.  Z.  bemourned 
his  loss  as  only  a  wife  can  that  of  her  husband. 

In  the  autumn  of  1864  Z.  approached  another  school- 
mate, who,  however,  proved  unsympathetic  and  refused 
him. 

At  the  university  Z.  affected  feminine  coquetry,  wore 
patent  leather  shoes,  parted  his  hair  in  the  middle,  had 
various  love  affairs  with  young  men,  and  was  unspeakably 
happy  when  at  some  private  theatricals  he  could  appear 
in  the  role  of  a  woman.  He  had  at  that  time  a  great 
weakness  for  pomatums,  strong  scents  and  jewellery. 

The  gentle  sex  never  attracted  him.  When  upon  one 
occasion  he  was  induced  to  go  with  others  to  a  brothel 
the  girl  that  fell  to  bis  lot  appeared  to  him  like  a  wooden 
statue,  and  he  could  not  accomplish  coitus. 

This  experience  aroused  in  him  doubts  as  to  his 
future.  But  soon  he  persuaded  himself  again  that  his 
homo-sexual  instinct  and  actions  contained  no  unnatural 
elements. 

In  1872  he  entered  upon  matrimony,  based  upon 
respect  and  self-interest.  He  succeeded  in  performing 
his  conjugal  duties,  imagining  the  wife  to  be  a  handsome 
young  man.  This  sexual  intercourse  was,  however,  of 
rare  occurrence,  since  it  gave  him  no  mental  pleasure, 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS,  365 

and  he  again  sought  compensation  in  homo-sexual  acts, 
consisting  merel}'  in  mutual  masturbation. 

During  the  last  seven  years  Z.  has  had  no  sexual 
connection  with  his  wife ;  but  from  this  union  sprang  two 
sons  (now  grown  up),  whom  he  declares  to  be  perfectly 
sound  and  sexually  normal. 

Z.  states  that  his  homo  -  sexual  inclinations  have 
caused  him  much  worry,  and  that,  though  in  vain,  he 
resisted  them  with  all  his  will-power,  in  order  to  be  true 
to  his  wife.  The  very  sight  of  a  young  man  clad  in 
close-fitting  trousers  was  suliicient  to  overcome  him.  On 
such  occasions,  especially  after  partaking  of  wine,  which 
he  never  liked,  congestions  to  the  head  and  hallucinations 
of  a  sexual  character  took  place.  He  fancied  he  beheld 
naked  young  men  approach  him  with  penis  erect,  grasp 
his  genitals,  masturbate  him,  and  perform  coitus  mter 
femora  with  him.  He  yielded  to  it  in  thought,  had 
orgasm,  but  rarely  ejaculation.  This  happened  to  him 
at  times  also  before  he  fell  asleep. 

In  1895  Z.  was  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment 
on  account  of  immoral  acts  with  a  young  navvy  of  seven- 
teen years  of  age. 

His  examination  at  the  clinic  showed  him  to  be 
neurotically  much  tainted  and  wanting  in  mental  balance. 
Cranium  asy metrical  ;  typical  instance  of  neurasthenia 
cerehralis ;  genitals  normal. 

Case  121.  On  a  summer  evening,  at  twilight,  X. 
Y.,  a  physician  of  a  city  in  North  Germany,  was  detected 
by  a  watchman  while  committing  a  misdemeanour  with  a 
countryman  in  a  field.  He  was  practising  masturbation 
on  him,  and  then  inontulam  alius  in  os  suum  immisit.  X, 
escaped  legal  prosecution  by  flight.  The  authorities  dis- 
missed the  complaint,  because  there  had  been  no  publicity, 
and  because  immissio  memhri  in  anum  had  not  taken  place. 
Among  X.'s  effects  was  found  an  extensive  correspond- 
ence of  a  perverse  sexual  character,  which  showed  that 


366  PSYC  HOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

he  had  had  perverse  intercourse  for  years  with  all  classes 
of  people. 

X.  came  of  a  neurotic  family.  His  paternal  grand- 
father died  by  suicide  while  insane.  His  father  was  a 
weak,  peculiar  man.  One  brother  masturbated  at  the  age 
of  two.  A  cousin  was  sexually  perverse,  and  practised 
perverse  acts,  similar  to  those  of  X.,  while  a  youth  ;  he 
became  weak-minded,  and  died  of  spinal  disease.  A 
paternal  great-uncle  was  an  hermaphrodite.  His  mother's 
sister  was  insane.  His  mother  is  said  to  have  been 
healthy.     X.'s  brother  is  nervous  and  irascible. 

X.,  hkewise,  was  nervous  as  a  child.  The  mewing  of 
a  cat  would  create  great  fear  in  him  ;  and  if  one  but 
imitated  the  voice  of  a  cat  he  would  cry  bitterly,  and 
run  to  others  for  protection.  Shght  physical  disturb- 
ance caused  violent  fever.  He  was  a  quiet,  dreamy 
child,  of  excitable  imagination,  but  of  slight  mental 
capabilities.  He  did  not  indulge  much  in  boyish  games ; 
he  preferred  feminine  pursuits.  It  gave  him  especial 
pleasure  to  curl  the  hair  of  the  housemaid  or  of  his 
brother. 

At  thirteen  X.  went  to  an  institute.  There  he  prac- 
tised mutual  masturbation,  seduced  his  comrades,  and  his 
cynical  conduct  made  him  unmanageable ;  so  that  he 
bad  to  be  taken  home.  At  that  time  the  parents  found 
love-letters  with  lascivious  contents,  showing  perverse 
sexuality.  From  the  age  of  seventeen  he  studied  under 
the  strict  surveillance  of  a  professor  in  a  gymnasium. 
He  made  but  sad  progress  in  learning.  He  had  only  a 
talent  for  music. 

After  finishing  his  studies,  the  patient  entered  the 
university  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  There  he  attracted 
attention  by  his  cynical  character  and  his  association 
with  young  persons  who  were  thought  to  be  given  to 
mascuhne  love.  He  began  to  be  dandified  ;  wore  striking 
cravats,  and  low  cut  shirts  ;  he  forced  his  feet  into  narrow 
shoes,  and  curled  his  hair  in  a  remarkable  way.     This 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS.  367 

peculiarity    disappeared    when    he    left    the    school    and 
returned  home. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  was  for  a  long  time 
neurasthenic.  From  that  time  until  his  twenty-ninth 
year  he  was  earnest  and  skilful  in  his  profession  ;  but 
he  avoided  the  society  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  constantly 
associated  with  men  of  doubtful  character. 

The  patient  would  not  allow  a  personal  examination. 
In  writing,  he  made  the  excuse  that  this  would  be  of  no 
use,  because  his  impulse  to  his  own  sex  had  existed 
from  his  earliest  childhood,  and  was  congenital.  He  had 
always  had  horror  femince,  and  had  never  been  inclined 
to  avail  himself  of  the  charms  of  women.  Toward  men 
he  felt  himself  in  the  role  of  a  man.  He  recognised  his 
impulse  toward  his  own  sex  as  abnormal,  and  excused  his 
sexual  indulgence  as  being  the  result  of  an  abnormal 
natural  condition. 

Since  his  flight  X.  lives  out  of  Germany,  in  Southern 
Italy,  and,  as  I  learned  from  a  letter,  now,  as  before,  he 
indulges  in  perverse  love.  X.  is  an  earnest,  stately  man, 
of  masculine  features,  well-grown  beard,  and  normally 
developed  genitals.  Dr.  X.  furnished  me  a  short  time  ago 
with  his  autobiography,  of  which  the  following  is  worthy 
of  mention  : — 

"  When,  at  the  age  of  seven,  I  entered  the  private 
school,  I  felt  very  uncomfortable,  and  found  very  little 
sympathy  with  my  companions.  Only  toward  one  of 
them,  who  was  a  very  handsome  child,  did  I  feel  attracted, 
and  I  loved  him  wildly.  In  childish  games  I  always  knew 
how  to  arrange  it  so  that  I  could  appear  in  feminine 
attire  ;  and  my  greatest  pleasure  was  to  form  intricate 
coiffures  for  our  servant-girls.  I  often  regretted  that  I 
was  not  a  girl. 

"My  sexual  instinct  awakened  when  I  was  thirteen, 
and  from  the  moment  of  its  appearance  it  was  directed 
toward  youthful,  strong  men.  At  first  I  was  not  really 
certain  that  this  was  abnormal,  but  consciousness  of  it 


368  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

came  when  I  saw  and  heard  how  my  companions  were 
characterised  sexually.  I  began  to  masturbate  at  the  age 
of  thirteen.  At  seventeen  I  left  home  and  went  to  the 
gymnasium  of  a  large  capital,  where  I  was  put  to  board 
with  a  married  professor  of  the  gymnasium,  with  whose 
son  I  afterward  had  sexual  relations.  It  was  with  him 
that  I  first  had  sexual  satisfaction.  Thereafter  I  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  young  artist,  who  very  soon  noticed 
that  I  was  abnormal,  and  confessed  to  me  that  he  was 
in  the  same  condition.  I  learned  from  him  that  this 
abnormality  was  very  frequent ;  and  this  knowledge  over- 
came the  trouble  that  I  had  had  in  supposing  that  I 
was  alone  in  my  abnormality.  This  young  man  had  an 
extensive  acquaintance  with  persons  in  like  condition,  to 
which  he  introduced  me.  There  I  became  the  object  of 
general  attention,  for  on  all  sides  I  was  declared  to  be 
very  attractive  physically.  I  soon  became  insanely  loved 
by  an  old  gentleman  ;  but,  not  finding  him  to  my  taste, 
I  endured  him  but  a  short  time,  and  then  gave  ear  to  a 
young  and  handsome  officer  who  lay  at  my  feet.  He  was 
really  my  first  love. 

"  After  passing  my  final  examination,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  free  from  the  discipline  of  school,  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  great  number  of  people  like  myself,  and 
among  them  Karl  Ulrichs  {Numa  Numantinus). 

"  When,  later,  I  took  up  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
associated  with  many  normal  youths,  I  was  often  in  a 
position  where  I  was  compelled  to  visit  public  prostitutes. 
After  having  consorted  to  no  purpose  with  various  pros- 
titutes, some  of  whom  were  very  beautiful,  the  opinion 
was  spread  among  my  acquaintances  that  I  was  impotent, 
and  I  strengthened  this  by  telling  of  previous  sexual 
excesses.  At  that  time  I  had  numerous  external  relations 
wdth  persons  who  prized  my  physical  peculiarities,  which 
were  considered  very  beautiful.  The  result  of  this  was, 
that  I  was  exciting  somebody  all  the  time  ;  and  I  received 
such  a  mass  of  love-letters  that  I  was  often  in  embarrass- 


HOMO-SEXUAL    INDIVIDUALS.  369 

ment.  The  acme  of  this  was  reached  later  when,  as  a 
physician,  I  hved  in  the  hospital.  There  I  moved  about 
like  a  celebrated  person,  and  the  scenes  of  jealousy  that 
took  place  on  my  account  almost  led  to  the  discovery  of 
the  whole  thing.  Shortly  after  this,  I  fell  ill  with  an 
inflammation  of  my  shoulder-joint,  from  which  I  recovered 
after  three  months.  During  this  illness  I  received  sub- 
cutaneous injections  of  morphine  several  times  daily, 
which  were  suddenly  discontinued,  and  which  I  practised 
thereafter  secretly  after  my  recovery.  For  the  purpose 
of  special  study,  I  spent  some  months  in  Vienna,  before 
entering  into  ]Drivate  practice,  and  there,  by  means  of 
some  recommendations,  I  gained  entrance  to  various 
circles  of  people  like  myself.  I  there  learned  that  the 
abnormality  in  question,  in  its  various  forms,  is  spread 
through  the  lower  classes  as  well  as  the  higher,  and  that 
those  who  are  approachable  for  money  are  not  infrequently 
met  among  the  higher  classes. 

"  When  I  established  myself  in  the  country,  I  hoped 
to  cure  myself  of  the  morphine  habit  by  means  of  cocaine  ; 
and  then  I  became  a  victim  of  cocaine,  of  which,  only 
after  three  relapses,  I  was  able  to  rid  myself  (about  two 
years  ago).  In  my  position,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to 
find  sexual  satisfaction,  and  I  noticed  with  pleasure  that 
the  use  of  cocaine  had  overcome  my  desire.  When,  on 
the  first  occasion,  at  the  urgent  request  of  my  aunt,  I  had 
emancipated  myself  from  cocaine,  I  travelled  for  a  few 
weeks  in  order  to  improve  my  health,  the  perverse  im- 
pulses were  again  awakened  in  their  old  strength,  and, 
one  evening,  while  out  in  the  fields  by  the  city  amusing 
myself  with  a  man,  I  noticed  that  I  had  been  detected  by 
the  authorities  and  advertised ;  but  that  the  act  of  which 
I  was  accused  was  not  punishable,  in  accordance  with 
the  opinion  expressed  by  the  highest  court  of  the  G-erman 
kingdom.  I  had,  therefore,  to  be  careful ;  for  already  the 
announcement  of  the  crime  had  been  heralded  on  all 
sides.     I  saw  that  after  this  I  should  be  compelled  to 

24 


o70  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

leave  Germany,  and  find  a  new  home  where  neither  the 
law  nor  public  opinion  would  be  opposed  to  that  impulse, 
which,  like  all  abnormal  instincts,  could  not  be  overcome 
by  the  will.  Since  I  was  never  deceived  for  a  moment 
about  the  matter,  in  recognising  my  impulses  as  opposed 
to  social  usages,  I  repeatedly  attempted  to  become  master 
of  them  ;  but  by  these  efforts  they  were  increased  in  power. 
This  same  observation  has  been  communicated  to  me  by 
acquaintances.  Since  I  was  exclusively  drawn  toward 
strong,  youthful  and  masculine  individuals,  and  they 
were  very  seldom  inclined  to  yield  to  my  wishes,  I  was 
compelled  to  buy  them.  Since  my  desire  was  limited  to 
persons  of  the  lower  classes,  I  was  always  able  to  find 
such  as  were  purchasable  with  money.  I  hope  that  the 
following  statements  will  not  awaken  your  repugnance. 
At  first  I  intended  to  omit  them  ;  but,  for  the  completeness 
of  this  communication,  I  may  include  them,  since  they 
serve  to  enrich  the  clinical  material.  I  am  compelled  to 
perform  the  sexual  act  in  the  following  way  : — 

"  Pene  juvenis  in  os  recepto,  ita  ut  commovendo  ore 
meo  effecerim,  ut  is  quem  cupio,  semen  ejaculaverit, 
sperma  in  perinaeum  exspuo,  femora  comprimi  jubeo  et 
penem  meum  adversus  et  intra  femora  compressa  immitto. 
Dum  haec  fiunt,  necesse  est,  ut  juvenis  me,  quantum  potest, 
amplectatur.  Quae  prius  me  fecisse  narravi,  eandem  mihi 
afferunt  voluptatem,  acsi  ipse  ejaculo.  Ejaculationem 
pene  in  anum  immittendo  vel  manu  terendo  assequi,  mihi 
nequaquam  amoenam  est. 

"  Sed  inveni,  qui  penem  meum  receperint  atque  ca 
facientes,  quae  supra  exposui,  effecerint,  ut  libidines  mete 
plane  sint  saturata?. 

"Concerning  my  person,  I  must  still  mention  the 
following  :  I  am  186  centimetres  tall,  of  masculine  appear- 
ance, and,  with  the  exception  of  abnormal  irritability  of 
the  skin,  healthy.  My  hair  and  beard  are  black  and 
thick.  My  genitals  are  of  medium  size  and  normally 
formed.     I  am  able,  without  any  trace  of  fatigue,  to  per- 


HOMO-SEXUAL   INDIVIDUALS.  371 

form  the  sexual  act  from  four  to  six  times  in  twenty-four 
hours.  My  Hfe  is  very  regular.  I  use  alcohol  and  tobacco 
very  sparingly.  I  play  the  piano  quite  well,  and  some 
of  my  unpretentious  compositions  have  been  much  ap- 
plauded. I  have  lately  finished  a  novel,  which,  as  my 
first  work,  has  been  very  favourably  criticised  by  my 
friends.  The  story  has  several  problems  taken  from  the 
life  of  urnings  in  the  subject-matter. 

"Among  the  large  number  of  fellow-sufferers  that  are 
personally  known  to  me,  I  have  naturally  been  in  a  posi- 
tion to  make  observations  concerning  the  condition  and 
the  degrees  of  abnormality ;  and,  perhaps,  the  following 
communications  may  be  of  service  to  you  : — 

"  The  most  abnormal  thing  that  I  am  acquainted  with 
was  the  impulse  of  a  gentleman  who  lived  in  Berlin.  He 
preferred,  above  all  others,  young  fellows  with  unwashed 
feet,  which  he  would  lick  passionately.  A  gentleman  in 
Leipzig  was  similar  to  him ;  who,  where  it  was  possible, 
would  linguam  in  anum  immittere,  preferring  the  parts  to 
be  uncleaned.  Several  have  assured  me  that  the  sight  of 
riding-boots  or  of  parts  of  military  uniforms  induced  such 
excitement  in  them  that  spontaneous  ejaculation  resulted. 
A  man  in  Paris  compelled  a  friend  ut  in  os  ei  mingat. 

"  With  reference  to  the  degree  in  which  many  feel 
themselves  as  women,  which  is  with  me  not  the  case,  two 
persons  in  Vienna  are  examples.  They  bore  feminine 
names.  One  is  a  barber  who  calls  himself  '  French 
Laura';  the  other  was  formerly  a  butcher,  who  calls 
himself  '  Selcher-Fanny  '.  Both  of  them  never  missed  an 
opportunity,  during  the  carnival  time,  to  show  themselves 
in  very  fantastic  feminine  masks.  In  Hamburg  there  is  a 
person  that  many  people  believe  to  be  a  woman,  because 
he  always  goes  about  the  house  in  feminine  attire,  and 
only  occasionally  leaves  the  house,  and  always  in  such 
clothing.  This  man  wished  to  stand  as  godmother  at 
a  christening,  and,  as  a  result  of  it,-  gave  rise  to  great 
scandal. 


372  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

"  Feminine  timidity,  frivolity,  obstinacy  and  weakness 
of  character  are  the  rule  in  such  individuals. 

"  Several  cases  of  perverse  sexuality  are  know^n  to  me 
where  epilepsy  and  psychoses  are  present.  Hernias  are 
remarkably  frequent.  In  practice  many  persons  come  to 
me  to  be  treated  for  diseases  of  the  anus,  because  of  recom- 
mendation by  friends.  I  saw  two  syphilitic  and  one  local 
chancre,  and  several  fissures  ;  and  at  present  I  am  treating 
a  gentleman  for  condylomata  of  the  anus,  which  form  a 
rounded  tumour  as  large  as  a  fist.  One  case  of  primary 
affection  of  the  soft  palate  I  saw  in  Vienna,  in  a  young 
man  who  used  to  frequent  fancy-dress  balls  in  girl's 
attire,  and  entice  young  men  ;  he  would  then  pretend 
that  he  was  menstruating,  and  thus  induce  the  others  to 
use  him  per  os.  The  assertion  was  made  that  in  this  way 
he  had  deceived  fourteen  men  in  one  evening.  Since,  in 
none  of  the  pubhcations  concerning  antipathic  sexuality 
that  I  have  seen,  I  have  found  anything  concerning  the 
intercourse  of  pederasts  among  themselves,  I  venture  to 
communicate  something  concerning  it  in  conclusion  : — 

"As  soon  as  individuals  that  are  affected  with  in- 
verted sexuality  become  acquainted,  there  is  a  detailed 
narration  of  their  experiences,  loves  and  seductions,  as 
far  as  the  social  difference  between  them  allows  such 
entertainment.  Only  in  very  few  cases  is  this  amusement 
uncommon  with  new  acquaintances.  Among  themselves, 
they  call  themselves  '  aunts ' ;  in  Vienna,  '  sisters ' ;  and 
two  very  masculine  public  prostitutes  in  Vienna,  whom  I 
accidentally  became  acquainted  with,  and  who  lived  in  a 
perverse  sexual  relation  with  each  other,  told  me  that  for 
the  corresponding  condition  in  women  the  name  '  uncle  ' 
was  used.  Since  becoming  conscious  of  my  abnormal 
instinct  I  have  met  thousands  of  such  individuals. 

"  Almost  every  large  city  has  some  meeting-place,  as 
well  as  a  so-called  promenade.  In  smaller  cities  there 
are  relatively  few  '  aunts,'  though  in  a  small  town  of  2300 
inhabitants  I  found  eight,  and  in  one  of  7000  eighteen  of 


EFFEMINATION.  373 

whom  I  was  absolutely  sure, — to  say  nothing  of  those 
whom  I  suspected.  In  my  own  town  of  30,000  inhabitants 
I  personally  know  about  120  '  aunts  '.  The  greater  number 
of  them,  and  I  especially,  possess  the  capability  of  judging 
another  immediately  as  to  whether  they  are  alike  or  not, 
which,  in  the  language  of  the  '  aunts,'  is  called  '  reason- 
able '  or  *  unreasonable '.  My  acquaintances  are  often 
astounded  at  the  certainty  of  my  judgment.  Individuals 
that  are  apparently  absolutely  masculine  I  recognise  as 
'  aunts '  at  the  first  sight.  On  the  other  hand,  I  am  able 
to  behave  myself  in  such  a  masculine  way  that,  in  circles 
to  which  I  have  been  introduced  by  acquaintances,  there 
is  a  doubt  as  to  my  genuineness.  When  I  am  in  the 
mood,  I  can  act  exactly  like  a  girl, 

"  Since  the  majority  of  *  aunts,'  like  myself,  in  no  way 
regret  their  abnormality,  but  would  be  sorry  if  the  con- 
dition were  to  be  changed ;  and,  moreover,  since  the 
congenital  condition,  according  to  my  own  and  all  other 
experience,  cannot  be  influenced,  all  our  hope  rests  upon 
the  possibility  of  a  change  of  the  laws  with  reference  to  it, 
so  that  only  rape  or  the  commission  of  public  offence, 
when  this  can  be  proved  at  the  same  time,  shall  be 
punishable." 

3.  Effemi nation. 

There  are  various  transitions  from  the  foregoing  cases 
to  those  making  up  this  category,  characterised  by  the 
degree  in  which  the  psychical  personahty,  especially  in 
general  manner  of  feehng  and  inclinations,  is  influenced 
by  the  abnormal  sexual  feeling.  In  this  group  are  fully 
developed  cases  in  which  males  are  females  in  feeling ; 
and  vice  versa  women,  males.  This  abnormality  of  feeling 
and  of  development  of  the  character  is  often  apparent  in 
childhood.  The  boy  likes  to  spend  his  time  with  girls, 
play  with  dolls,  and  help  his  mother  about  the  house ; 
he  likes  to  cook,  sew,  knit ;  he  develops  tastes  in  female 


374  psYcnorATiiiA  sexualis. 

toilettes,  and  even  becomes  the  adviser  of  his  sisters.  As 
he  grows  older  he  eschews  smoking,  drinking  and  manly 
sports,  and,  on  the  contrary,  finds  pleasure  in  adornment 
of  person,  art,  belles-lettres,  etc.,  even  to  the  extent  of 
giving  himself  entirely  to  the  cultivation  of  the  beautiful. 
Since  woman  possesses  parallel  inclinations,  he  prefers  to 
move  in  the  society  of  women. 

If  he  can  assume  the  rSle  of  a  female  at  a  masquerade 
it  is  his  greatest  delight.  He  seeks  to  please  his  lover,  so 
to  speak,  by  studiously  trying  to  represent  what  pleases 
the  female-loving  man  in  the  opposite  sex — modesty, 
sweetness,  taste  for  aesthetics,  poetry,  etc.  Efforts  to 
approach  the  female  appearance  in  gait,  attitude  and 
attire  are  frequently  seen. 

With  reference  to  the  sexual  feeling  and  instinct  of 
these  urnings,  so  thoroughly  permeated  in  all  their  mental 
being,  the  men,  without  exception,  feel  themselves  to  be 
females.  Thus  they  feel  themselves  to  be  antagonistic  to 
persons  of  their  own  sex  constituted  like  themselves,  as 
of  course,  they  are  like  them  in  form.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  are  drawn  toward  those  of  their  own  sex  that 
are  homo-sexual  or  sexually  normal.  The  same  jealousy 
which  occurs  in  normal  sexual  life  also  occurs  here,  when 
rivalry  is  threatened  ;  and,  indeed,  since  they  are,  as  a 
rule,  hyperffisthetic  sexually,  this  jealousy  is  often  bound- 
less. 

In  cases  of  completely  developed  inverted  sexuality, 
hetero-sexual  love  is  looked  upon  as  a  thing  absolutely 
incomprehensible;  sexual  intercourse  with  a  person  of 
the  opposite  sex  is  unthinkable,  impossible.  Such  an 
attempt  brings  on  the  inhibitory  concept  of  disgust  or 
even  horror,  which  makes  erection  impossible.  Only 
two  of  my  cases  transitional  to  the  third  category  were 
able,  with  the  aid  of  imagination  which  made  the  female 
in  question  assume  the  role  of  man,  to  have  coitus  for  the 
time  being  ;  but  the  act,  which  yielded  no  gratification, 
was  a  great  sacrifice,  and  afforded  no  pleasure. 


EFFEMINATION.  375 

In  homo-sexual  intercourse  effeminated  men  feels 
himself  in  tlie  act  always  as  a  woman.  The  means  of 
indulgence,  where  there  is  irritable  weakness  of  the 
ejaculation  centre,  are  simply  succuhus,  or  passive  coitus 
inter  femora;  in  other  cases,  passive  masturbation,  or 
ejaculatio  viri  dilecti  in  ore.  Some  have  a  desire  for  passive 
pederasty ;  occasionally  a  desire  for  active  pederasty 
occurs.  In  one  attempt  of  this  kind,  the  man  desisted 
because  of  the  disgust  which  seized  him  when  the  act 
reminded  him  of  coitus. 

There  tvas  never  inclination  for  immature  persons  {hoy -love). 
Not  infrequently  there  were  only  platonic  desires. 

Case  1 22.  Autobiography.  In  the  subsequent  pages 
you  will  find  a  description  of  the  character  as  well  as 
the  psychic  and  sexual  feelings  of  an  urning,  i.e.,  of  an 
individual  who,  despite  of  mascuHne  anatomy,  has  the 
feelings  of  a  woman,  and  who  is  not  in  the  least  attracted 
by  women,  but  whose  entire  sexual  instinct  is  directed 
towards  men. 

"  I  am  convinced  that  the  enigma  of  our  existence  can 
only  be  solved  by  the  impartial  scientist  (or,  at  any  rate, 
that  hght  can  be  thrown  upon  it  by  him).  For  which 
reason  I  give  this  description  of  my  life  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  elucidating  this  cruel  error  of  nature,  and  thus 
to  benefit  in  all  possible  manner  such  fellow-beings  as 
are  afflicted  in  a  similar  way.  Urnings  there  will  be  as 
long  as  the  human  race  endures,  for  there  were  such 
ever  since  humanity  began.  But  as  science  progresses, 
men  will  look  upon  the  like  of  myself  as  subjects  worthy 
rather  of  compassion  than  of  disdain.  I  shall  confine 
myself  to  brevity,  avoiding  personaHties  and  adopting 
rather  a  cynical  style,  for  I  aspire  to  truth. 

"  I  am  thirty-four  and  a  half  years  of  age,  a  merchant 
with  moderate  income,  of  medium  size,  slender,  but  not 
muscular ;  I  have  a  well-bearded,  but  very  common  face 


376  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

and  make  at  first  the  impression  of  being  an  ordinary 
man.  But  my  gait  is  feminine,  my  movements  are 
awkward  and  devoid  of  elegance  and  manly  bearing.  My 
voice  is  neither  feminine  nor  shrieking,  but  rather  of  bari- 
tone resonance.      This  much  for  my  external  appearance. 

"  I  do  not  smoke  or  drink,  neither  can  I  whistle,  ride, 
perform  gymnastics,  fence  or  shoot.  I  do  not  fancy  horses 
or  dogs,  and  have  never  held  a  gun  or  sword  in  my  hand. 
My  intrinsic  feelings  and  sexual  desires  are  feminine 
all  through.  I  can  lay  no  claim  to  higher  education — 
I  only  went  as  far  as  the  fifth  form  of  the  gymnasium — 
nevertheless  I  am  intelligent,  and  love  to  read  good 
literature  ;  am  of  sound  judgment,  but  am  easily  moved 
by  spontaneous  emotions,  and  readily  yield  to  the  influence 
of  others  who  understand  me  and  know  how  to  prey 
upon  my  weaknesses.  I  form  for  ever  resolutions,  but 
never  have  the  energy  to  carry  them  through.  Like  unto 
woman,  I  am  petulant  and  nervous,  irritable  without 
cause,  at  times  vicious,  and  towards  persons  not  present 
and  against  whom  I  have  a  grudge,  arrogant  and  unjust, 
even  to  a  degree  insulting. 

"In  all  my  doings  I  am  superficial,  even  careless,  and 
am  devoid  of  real  moral  sentiment,  of  tender  feelings 
towards  my  parents,  brothers  and  sisters  ;  but  I  am  not 
egotistical,  but  rather  inclined  to  self-sacrifice,  cannot 
resist  tears,  and  am  easily  won  over  by  cordial,  depre- 
catory manners,  as  is  common  in  woman. 

"  At  an  early  age  I  took  a  dislike  to  the  manly  sports 
practised  by  my  companions  ;  liked  to  play  with  little 
girls,  who  suited  my  character  better  than  boys ;  was 
shy,  and  easily  blushed. 

"  At  the  age  of  twelve-thirteen  the  close-fitting  uniform 
of  a  soldier  caused  in  me  peculiar  emotions  ;  and,  whilst 
during  the  subsequent  years  my  school-mates  always 
talked  about  girls,  and  even  entered  upon  love  affairs, 
I  was  never  able  to  resist  the  influence  which  a  well- 
formed  man,  especially  with   well-pronounced  j^osteriora, 


EFFEMINATION.  377 

made  upon  my  senses.     I  would   follow  him  for  hours, 
and  simply  revel  in  the  sight  of  him. 

"  Although  I  never  reflected  much  upon  these  impres- 
sions— so  totally  different  from  those  of  my  companions — 
I  began  to  practise  onanism,  always  thinking  of  manly 
heroic  forms,  until  a  friend,  when  I  was  seventeen, 
explained  matters  to  me.  Since  that  time  I  have  been 
with  girls  about  eight  or  ten  times  ;  but,  in  order  to 
produce  erection,  I  had  to  call  to  aid  the  thought  of 
some  handsome  man  known  to  me,  and  I  am  convinced 
that  even  now  I  could  not  go  with  a  woman  without  the 
assistance  of  my  fancy.  Soon  after  I  discovered  my 
anomaly  I  preferred  to  go  with  well-matured  and  well- 
built  urnings,  for  at  that  time  I  did  not  have  opportunity 
or  sufficient  knowledge  to  have  intercourse  with  real  men. 

"  But  my  taste  has  completely  changed,  so  that 
only  men  of  fine,  supple  and  muscular  form  attract  me 
sensually.  Their  charms  excite  me  as  if  I  were  a  real 
woman.  Thus  it  has  happened  that  in  the  course  of 
time  I  have  made  the  intimate  acquaintance  of  at  least 
a  dozen  men  who,  for  a  consideration  of  one  or  two 
florins,  serve  my  purpose.  When  alone  with  such  a  fine 
fellow  in  my  room,  I  derive  the  utmost  pleasure  from 
membrum  ejus  vel  maxime  si  magnum  atque  crassum 
est,  manibus  capere  et  apprehendere  et  premere,  turgentes 
nates  femoraque  tangere  atque  totum  corpus  manibus 
contrectare  et,  si  conceditur,  os,  faciem  atque  totum  corpus, 
immovero  nates,  ardentibus  osculis  obtegere.  Quodsi 
membrum  magnum  purumque  est,  dominusque  ejus  mihi 
placet,  ardente  libidine  mentulam  ejus,  in  os  meum 
receptam  complures  horas  sugere  possum,  neque  autem 
delector,  si  semen  in  os  meum  ejaculatur,  cum  maxime 
eorum  qui,  *  urninge '  nominantur  pars  hac  re  non  modo 
delectatur,  sed  etiam  semen  nonnunquam  devorat. 

"  But  the  height  of  pleasure  I  experience  when  such  a 
man  vievibrum  meum  in  os  recipit  et  erectionem  in  ore  suo 
concedlt. 


378  PSYCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

"  It  may  sound  strange  but  I  can  alwa3^s  find  fellows 
whom  I  may  use  in  this  manner  for  a  consideration. 
They  learn  about  this  at  the  barracks,  for  the  urnings 
know  fully  well  that  the  soldier  will  do  almost  anything 
for  money.  In  fact  these  young  fellows  when  once 
trained  to  it  will  continue  the  practice  whilst  at  the 
same  time  indulging  in  their  passion  with  woman. 

"  Urnings  as  a  rule  do  not  attract  me,  for  everything 
that  smacks  of  the  feminine  is  repulsive  to  me.  Still  I 
have  come  across  some  who  can  enchant  me  the  same  as 
the  real  man  does.  In  fact  I  rather  go  with  them  because 
they  requite  passionately  my  burning  love.  When  alone 
with  such  a  being  I  give  my  emotions  free  play  and  revel 
to  the  utmost  in  my  animal  instinct.  Osculor,  premo, 
amplector  eum,  linguam  meam  in  os  ejus  immitto ;  ore 
cupiditate  tremente  ejus  labrum  superius  sugo,  faciem 
meam  ad  ejus  nates  adpono  et  odore  voluptari  e  nati])us 
omanente  voluptate  obstupescor.  Genuine  men  in  close 
fitting  uniforms  make  the  deepest  impression  upon  me, 
and  should  I  have  the  chance  of  throwing  my  arms  around 
such  a  fellow  and  of  kissing  him  it  produces  immediate 
ejaculation,  a  circumstance  which  I  ascribe  to  frequent 
auto-masturbation.  For  I  often  did  this  in  former  years 
well-nigh  every  time  when  I  beheld  such  a  fine  fellow 
whose  image  was  ever  present  before  me  during  the  act. 
My  taste  in  this  regard  is  by  no  means  very  refined,  but 
more  like  that  of  a  servant  girl  who  sees  her  ideal  in  a 
stalwart  dragoon.  A  pretty  face  may  be  a  pleasant 
attribute,  but  by  no  means  indispensable  for  kindling  my 
sensual  fire ;  the  main  thing  always  is :  vir  inferiore 
corporis  parte  robusta  et  bene  firmosa,  turgidis  femoribus 
durisque  natibus  thorax  qualibet  forma.  A  prominent 
abdomen  disgusts  me ;  a  sensual  mouth  and  white  teeth 
simply  makes  me  tingle  and  if  such  a  man  has  also  a 
membrum  pulchrum  magnum  et  a^qualiter  formatum, 
all  my  demands,  even  the  most  exorbitant,  are  quite 
satisfied. 


EFFEMINATION.  379 

"When  men  sensually  excited  me  in  former  years  I 
would  have  five  to  eight  ejaculations  during  the  night 
(even  now  four  to  six),  for  I  am  uncommonly  sensual; 
the  very  clanking  of  the  sword  of  a  cavalry  man  on  the 
pavement  excites  me.  My  imagination  is  very  vivid ; 
during  all  hours  of  the  day  I  think  of  handsome  men  with 
muscular  limbs  and  could  derive  the  utmost  pleasure  from 
witnessing  how  a  strong  powerful  fellow  magna  mentula 
prffiditus  me  prrosente  puellam  futuat ;  mihi  persuasum 
est,  fore  ut  hoc  adspectu  sensus  mei  vehementissima  per- 
turbatione  afficiantur  et  dum  futuit  corpus  adolescentis 
pulchri  tangam  et,  si  liceat,  ascendam  in  eum  dum  cum 
puella  concumbit  atque  idem  cum  eo  faciam  et  membrum 
meum  in  ejus  anum  immittam.  The  only  thing  that  has 
prevented  me  from  carrying  out  this  idea,  which  fills  my 
thoughts  frequently,  is  the  want  of  means. 

"  Most  of  all  I  am  enchanted  by  soldiers,  but  I  have 
also  a  great  weakness  for  butchers,  cabdrivers,  carmen, 
circus  riders  and  ship's  captains,  but  they  must  be  of 
elastic  and  muscular  build.  I  hate  intimacy  with  urnings, 
in  fact  for  them  I  have  a  great  aversion  which  I  can 
neither  explain  nor  justify.  With  the  exception  of  one 
I  have  never  had  intimate  relations  with  such.  But  I 
have  cordial  relations  of  many  years'  standing  with  several 
urnings  whose  company  I  enjoy,  but  sexual  intercourse 
has  never  taken  place  between  us,  in  fact  they  are  in  no 
wise  aware  of  my  anomaly. 

"  I  detest  conversing  about  politics,  state-economy,  or 
any  other  serious  topic,  but  I  love  to  chat  with  fair 
knowledge  and  especial  preference  about  the  theatre.  At 
the  opera  I  live,  so  to  speak,  upon  the  stage  and  feel  as 
though  the  audience  were  applauding  me.  There  is 
nothing  I  should  like  better  than  to  play  the  role  of  the 
heroine  or  some  other  important  female  character. 

"  The  most  interesting  and  all-absorbing  topic  of  con- 
versation with  my  companions  is  for  ever  '  our  men ' ; 
this  theme  is  inexhaustible ;   their  most  secret  charms  are 


380  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

described  to  the  minutest  details,  mentulae  sestimantur 
quanta  sint  magnitudine,  quanta  crassitudine  ;  de  forma 
eorum  atque  rigiditate  conferimus,  alter  ab  altero  cog- 
noscit  cujus  semen  celerius,  cujus  tardius  ejaculetur.  I 
may  mention  here  that  one  of  my  four  brothers  allowed 
himself  to  be  used  for  homo-sexual  purposes  without 
being  an  urning  himself.  All  four  of  them  are  passionate 
devotees  of  the  gentle  sex  and  are  for  ever  given  to 
sexual  excess.  The  genitals  of  the  male  members  of  our 
family  are  all  abnormally  well  developed. 

"  I  again  repeat  the  words  with  which  I  started  these 
lines.  I  could  not  choose  my  expressions  as  my  intention 
was  to  place  in  your  hands  certain  material  for  the  study 
of  an  urning's  life,  and  absolute  truth  is  in  this  regard 
imperative.  Kindly  ascribe  to  this  effort  the  many  cyni- 
cisms I  have  uttered." 

In  the  month  of  October,  1890,  the  writer  of  this  epistle 
came  to  me  personally.  His  appearance  tallied  with  the 
description  given  by  himself.  Genitals  very  large  with 
alfundant  growth  of  hair.  He  claims  that  his  parents  had 
sound  nerves,  but  a  brother  had  committed  suicide  by 
shooting  himself  on  account  of  some  nervous  disorder  ;  the 
other  three,  he  says,  are  highly  neurasthenic.  This  man 
was  in  a  most  despondent  frame  of  mind.  He  could 
suffer  such  a  life  no  longer,  for  he  was  entirely  reduced  to 
the  intercourse  with  mercenary  men,  could  not  practise 
abstinence  on  account  of  his  extreme  sensuality.  Neither 
could  he  perceive  how  he  could  be  made  hetero-sexual  and 
capable  of  enjoying  the  nobler  pleasure  of  man,  as  for 
thirteen  years  his  instinct  had  been  homo-sexual.  He 
feels  as  a  woman  does,  and,  like  her,  seeks  conquests 
among  men  who  are  not  urnings.  When  he  converses 
with  an  urning  it  is  the  same  as  if  two  women  were  to- 
gether. He  should  prefer  to  be  sexless.  Would  castration 
liberate  him  ? 

Attempts  at  hypnotism  had  but  weak  effects  on  this 
so  highly  excitable  patient. 


EFFEMINATION.  381 

Case  123.  B.,  writer,  forty-two  years  of  age,  un- 
married, was  sent  to  me  by  his  own  physician  (with  whom 
he  had  fallen  in  love),  as  a  case  of  sexual  inversion.  B.  gave 
readily  in  modest  language  an  account  of  his  vita  anteacta 
and  especially  sexualis.  He  seemed  pleased  to  obtain  at 
last  an  authentic  explanation  of  his  abnormal  state  which 
he  had  always  considered  a  disease. 

B.  possesses  no  knowledge  of  his  grandparents.  The 
father  was  of  an  irascible,  excitable  nature,  a  drinker, 
and  of  strong  sexual  wants.  After  begetting  twenty-four 
children  with  the  same  woman,  he  obtained  a  divorce,  and 
after  that  had  three  children  by  his  housekeeper.  The 
mother  was  a  healthy  woman.  Of  the  twenty-four  chil- 
dren only  six  are  now  among  the  living,  several  of  whom 
suffer  from  nervous  affections,  but  are  sexually  normal, 
except  one  sister  who  for  ever  runs  after  the  men. 

B.  claims  to  have  always  been  delicate  and  sickly. 
His  vita  sexualis  awoke  at  the  age  of  eight.  He  began 
to  masturbate  and  derived  much  pleasure  from  pencm 
aliorum  pueromm  in  os  arrigere.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he 
began  to  fall  in  love  with  men,  preferring  those  in  the 
thirties  and  with  moustache.  His  sexual  needs  at  that 
period  were  extraordinary  and  erections  and  pollutions 
were  frequent.  He  masturbated  daily,  thinking  of  some 
man  whom  he  loved.  His  ambition  was  always  penem 
viri  in  os  arrigere,  which  thought  caused  ejaculation 
accompanied  by  the  utmost  lust.  But  only  twelve  times 
thus  far  had  he  been  successful  in  this.  He  never  felt 
nausea  at  the  penis  of  others  if  they  were  sympathetic ; 
on  the  contrary.  Active  as  well  as  passive  pederasty 
disgusted  him  thoroughly  and  he  never  accepted  such 
offers.  During  the  perverse  act  he  played  the  role  of 
woman.  His  love  for  sympathetic  men  is  boundless.  He 
could  do  anything  for  the  man  whom  he  thus  loved,  and 
when  beholding  him  he  trembled  with  excitement  and 
lustful  feelings. 

When    nineteen   he   was  several  times  lured   by  his 


382  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

companions  to  a  brothel,  but  coitus  did  not  please  him  and 
only  at  the  moment  of  ejaculation  did  he  experience  a  sort 
of  gratification.  He  could  only  be  virile  with  woman 
when  he  thought  of  her  during  the  act  as  the  man  whom 
he  loved.  He  much  rather  would  have  preferred  the 
woman  to  allow  him  immissio  2icnis  in  os  ;  but  she  refused. 
Faute  de  mieux  he  indulged  in  coitus  ;  twice  even  he  was 
a  father.  The  younger  of  the  two  children,  now  a  girl  of 
eight,  has  already  begun  masturbation  and  mutual  onan- 
ism, which  fact  troubled  him  very  much.  Was  there  no 
remedy  for  this  ? 

Patient  says  that  towards  men  he  always  feels  himself 
to  be  of  feminine  type  (this  also  during  sexual  intercourse). 
His  idea  is  that  this  sexual  perversion  originated  from  the 
fact  that  his  father  when  begetting  him  wished  to  beget  a 
girl.  The  other  children  of  the  family  always  teased  him 
on  account  of  his  girlish  ways  and  manners.  To  sweep 
the  rooms  and  wash  the  dishes  were  ever  pleasant  oc- 
cupations for  him.  His  housework  was  always  much 
admired  and  praised  because  he  was  cleverer  than  the 
girls.  Whenever  he  could  he  would  don  girl's  attire.  At 
the  Mardi-gras  balls  he  always  wore  the  female  mask.  He 
made  a  capital  coquette  on  account  of  his  female  nature. 

Drinking,  smoking,  manly  sports  and  occupations 
never  suited  him,  but  he  was  passionately  fond  of  sewing 
and  was  often  upbraided  on  account  of  his  weakness  for 
dolls  when  a  boy.  When  at  the  circus  or  the  theatre  his 
attention  was  only  drawn  to  the  male  performers.  He 
had  an  irresistible  desire  to  loiter  about  W.  C's.  in  order 
to  get  a  look  at  the  men's  genitals. 

Female  charms  never  attracted  him.  Coitus  was  only 
possible  when  aided  by  the  thought  of  a  beloved  man. 
Nocturnal  pollutions  were  always  produced  by  lascivious 
dreams  about  men. 

Despite  numerous  sexual  excesses  B.  has  never 
suffered  from  neurasthenia  sexualis  ;  neither  are  there 
symptoms  of  neurastlunia  of  any  kind. 


EFFEMINATION.  383 

Features  delicate  ;  sparse  side  whiskers  and  moustacbe, 
which  began  to  grow  only  when  he  was  twenty-eight. 
His  external  appearance,  excepting  a  light,  swinging 
gait,  does  not  indicate  female  nature.  He  observes  that 
he  is  often  teased  on  account  of  his  womanish  carriage. 
His  manners  are  highly  modest.  Genitals  large,  well 
developed,  quite  normal,  with  abundance  of  hair ;  pelvis 
masculine.  Cranium  rachitic,  shghtly  hydrocephalic  ; 
parietal  bones  rather  bulging.  Countenance  exceptionally 
small.     Patient  says  he  is  easily  provoked  to  wrath. 

Case  124.  Taylor  had  occasion  to  examine  a  certain 
■Ehza  Edwards,  aged  twenty-four.  It  was  discovered  that 
she  was  of  masculine  sex.  E.  had  worn  female  clothing 
from  her  fourteenth  year,  and  had  also  been  an  actress. 
The  hair  was  worn  long,  after  the  manner  of  females,  and 
parted  in  the  middle.  The  form  of  the  face  was  feminine, 
but  otherwise  the  body  was  masculine.  The  beard  was 
carefully  pulled  out.  The  masculine,  well  -  developed 
genitals  were  fixed  in  an  upward  position  by  an  artful 
bandage.  The  condition  of  the  anus  indicated  passive 
pederasty  {Taylor,  "  Med.  Jurisp.,"  1873,  ii.,  p.  286,  473). 

Case  125.  An  official  of  middle  age,  who  for  some 
years  had  been  happy  in  family  life,  and  was  married  to  a 
virtuous  woman,  presented  a  pecuhar  manifestation  of 
antipathic  sexual  feeling. 

One  day,  through  the  indiscretion  of  a  prostitute,  the 
following  scandal  became  public  :  About  once  a  week  X. 
would  appear  in  a  house  of  prostitution,  and  there  dress 
himself  up  as  a  woman,  always  requiring,  as  a  part  of  his 
costume,  a  coiffure.  When  his  toilet  was  completed,  he 
would  lie  down  on  the  bed,  and  have  the  prostitute  perform 
manustupration.  But  he  very  much  preferred  to  have  a 
male  person  (a  servant  of  the  house).  This  man's  father 
was  hereditarily  tainted,  had  been  insane  several  times, 
and  was  afflicted  with  hypcroesthesia  and  parcesthesia  sexualis. 


384  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

4.  Androgyny. 

Forming  direct  transitions  from  the  foregoing  groups 
are  those  individuals  of  antipathic  sexuahty  in  whom  not 
only  the  character  and  all  the  feelings  are  in  accord  with 
the  abnormal  sexual  instinct,  but  also  the  frame,  the 
features,  voice,  etc.  ;  so  that  the  individual  approaches 
the  opposite  sex  anthropologically,  and  in  more  than  a 
psychical  and  psycho-sexual  way.  This  anthropological 
form  of  the  cerebral  anomaly  apparently  represents  a  very 
high  degree  of  degeneration  ;  but  that  this  variation  is 
based  on  an  entirely  different  ground  than  the  teratological 
manifestation  of  hermaphrodism,  in  an  anatomical  sense, 
is  clearly  shown  by  the  fact  that  thus  far,  in  the  domain 
of  inverted  sexuality,  no  transitions  to  hermaphroditic 
malformation  of  the  genitals  have  been  observed.  The 
genitals  of  these  persons  always  prove  to  be  fully  differen- 
tiated sexually,  though  not  infrequently  there  are  present 
anatomical  signs  of  degeneration  (epispadiasis,  etc),  in 
the  sense  of  arrests  of  development  in  organs  that  are 
otherwise  well  marked. 

There  is  yet  wanting  a  sufficient  record  of  cases 
belonging  to  this  interesting  group  of  women  in  masculine 
attire  with  masculine  genitals.  Every  experienced  observer 
of  his  fellow-men  remembers  masculine  persons  that  were 
very  remarkable  for  their  womanish  character  and  type 
(wide  hips,  form  rounded  by  abundant  development  of 
adipose  tissue,  absence  or  insufficient  development  of 
beard,  feminine  features,  deHcate  complexion,  falsetto 
voice,  etc). 

In  persons  belonging  to  the  fourth  group,  and  in 
certain  ones  in  the  third,  forming  transitions  to  the  fourth, 
there  seems  to  be  a  feeling  of  shame  (sexual)  toward 
persons  of  the  same  sex,  and  not  toward  those  of  the 
opposite  sex. 

Case  1  26.     Androgyny.     Mr.  v.  H.,  aged  thirty,  single ; 


ANDROGYNY.  385 

of  neuropathic  mother.  Nervous  and  mental  diseases  are 
said  not  to  have  occurred  in  the  patient's  family,  and  his 
only  brother  is  said  to  be  mentally  and  physically  com- 
pletely normal.  The  patient  developed  tardily  physically, 
and,  therefore,  spent  much  of  his  time  at  the  sea-shore 
and  climatic  resorts.  From  childhood  he  was  of  neuro- 
pathic constitution,  and,  according  to  the  statements  of 
his  relatives,  unlike  other  boys.  His  disinclination  for 
masculine  pursuits  and  his  preference  for  feminine 
amusements  were  early  remarked.  Thus  he  avoided  all 
boyish  games  and  gymnastic  exercises,  while  doll-play 
and  feminine  occupations  were  particularly  pleasing  to 
him.  Subsequently  he  developed  well  physically,  and 
escaped  severe  illnesses,  but  he  remained  mentally 
abnormal,  incapable  of  an  earnest  aim  in  life,  and 
decidedly  feminine  in  thought  and  feeling. 

In  his  seventeenth  year  pollutions  occurred,  became 
more  frequent,  and  finally  took  place  during  the  day ;  so 
that  the  patient  grew  weak,  and  manifested  various  ner- 
vous disturbances.  Symptoms  of  neurasthenia  spinalis 
made  their  appearance,  and  have  lasted  up  to  the  last  few 
years,  but  they  have  become  milder  with  the  decrease  in 
the  number  of  pollutions.  Onanism  is  denied,  but  is 
very  probable.  An  indolent,  effeminate,  dreamy  habit  of 
thought  has  become  more  and  more  noticeable  ever  since 
puberty.  All  efforts  to  induce  the  patient  to  take  up  an 
earnest  pursuit  in  life  were  vain.  His  intellectual 
functions,  though  formally  quite  undisturbed,  were  never 
equal  to  the  motive  of  an  independent  character,  and  the 
higher  ideals  of  life.  He  remained  dependent,  an  over- 
grown child ;  and  nothing  more  clearly  indicated  his 
original  abnormal  condition  than  an  actual  incapability 
to  take  care  of  money,  and  his  own  confession  that  he 
had  no  ability  to  use  money  reasonably ;  that  as  soon  as 
he  had  money  he  wasted  it  for  curios,  toilet-articles,  and 
the  like. 

Incapable  as  he  was  of  a  reasonable  use  of  money,  the 

25 


386  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

patient  was  no  more  capable  of  leading  a  social  existence, 
indeed,  he  was  incapable  of  gaining  an  insight  into  its 
significance  and  value. 

He  learned  very  poorly,  spending  his  time  in  toilettes 
and  artistic  nothings,  particularly  in  painting,  for  which 
he  evinced  a  certain  capability ;  but  in  this  direction  he 
accomplished  nothing,  since  he  was  wanting  in  persever- 
ance. He  could  not  be  brought  to  take  up  any  earnest 
thought ;  he  had  a  mind  only  for  externals,  was  always 
distracted,  and  serious  things  quickly  wearied  him.  Pre- 
posterous acts,  senseless  journeys,  waste  of  money  and 
debts  repeatedly  occur  throughout  the  course  of  his  later 
life ;  and  even  for  these  positive  faults  in  his  life  he  was 
wanting  in  understanding.  He  was  self-willed  and  in- 
tractable, and  never  did  well  as  soon  as  an  attempt  was 
made  to  put  him  on  his  feet  and  point  out  to  him  his 
own  interests. 

With  these  manifestations  of  an  original  abnormal  and 
defective  mind,  there  were  notable  indications  of  perverse 
sexual  feeling,  which  were  also  indicated  in  the  somatic 
habitus  of  the  patient.  Sexually,  the  patient  felt  like  a 
woman  toward  men,  and  had  inclinations  toward  people 
of  his  own  sex,  with  indifference,  if  not  actual  disinclin- 
ation, for  females. 

In  his  twenty-second  year  it  is  asserted  that  he  had 
sexual  intercourse  with  women,  and  was  able  to  perform 
the  act  of  coitus  normally  ;  but,  partly  on  account  of 
increase  of  neurasthenic  symptoms  which  was  occa- 
sional after  coitus,  and  partly  on  account  of  fear  of 
infection — but  really  by  reason  of  a  want  of  satisfaction — 
he  soon  ceased  to  indulge  in  such  intercourse.  Concerning 
his  abnormal  sexual  condition,  he  is  not  quite  clear  ;  he 
is  conscious  of  an  inclination  toward  the  male  sex,  but 
confesses,  only  in  a  shame-faced  way,  that  he  has  certain 
pleasurable  feehngs  of  friendship  for  mascuhne  individuals, 
which,  however,  are  not  accompanied  by  any  sensual 
feelings.     The  female  sex  he  does  not  exactly  abhor ;  he 


ANDROGYNY.  387 

could  even  bring  himself  to  marry  a  woman  who  could 
have  an  attraction  for  him,  by  means  of  similarity  in 
artistic  tastes,  if  he  could  but  be  freed  from  conjugal 
duties,  which  were  unpleasant  to  him,  and  the  performance 
of  which  made  him  tired  and  weak.  He  denied  having 
had  sexual  intercourse  with  men,  but  his  blushing  and 
embarrassment,  and,  still  more,  an  occurrence  in  N.,  where 
the  patient  some  time  before  provoked  a  scandal  by 
attempting  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with  youths,  gave 
him  the  lie. 

His  external  appearance  also,  habitus,  form,  gestures, 
manners  and  dress  are  remarkable,  and  decidedly  recall 
the  feminine  form  and  characteristics.  The  patient, 
however,  is  over  middle  height,  but  thorax  and  pelvis  are 
decidedly  of  feminine  form.  The  body  is  rich  in  fat ;  the  skin 
is  well  groomed,  delicate  and  soft.  This  impression  of 
a  woman  in  masculine  dress  is  further  increased  by  a 
thin  growth  of  hair  on  the  face,  which  is  shaven,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  moustache  ;  by  the  mincing  gait  ; 
the  shy,  effeminate  manner ;  the  feminine  features  ;  the 
swimming,  neuropathic  expression  of  the  eyes ;  the  traces 
of  powder  and  paint ;  the  curtailed  cut  of  the  clothing, 
with  the  bosom-like  prominence  of  the  upper  garments ; 
the  fringed,  feminine  cravat ;  and  the  hair  brushed  down 
smoothly  from  the  brow  to  the  temples.  The  physical 
examination  makes  undoubted  the  feminine  form  of  the 
body.  The  external  genitals  are  well  developed,  though 
the  left  testicle  has  remained  in  the  canal ;  the  growth  of 
hair  on  the  mons  veneris  is  thin,  and  the  latter  is  unusually  rich 
in  fat  and  prominent.  The  voice  is  high,  and  without  masculine 
timbre. 

The  occupation  and  manner  of  thought  of  v.  H.  are 
decidedly  feminine.  He  has  a  boudoir  and  a  well-supplied 
toilet-table,  at  which  he  spends  many  hours  in  all  kinds 
of  arts  for  beautifying  himself.  He  abhors  the  chase, 
practice  with  arms,  and  such  masculine  pursuits,  and 
calls  himself  an  cesthete ;   speaks  with  preference  of  his 


388  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

paintings  and  attempts  at  poetry.  He  is  interested 
in  feminine  occupations,  in  which  —  e.g.,  embroidery  — 
he  engages,  and  calls  his  greatest  pleasure.  He  could 
spend  his  life  in  an  artistic  and  aesthetic  circle  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  in  conversation,  music  and  aesthetics. 
His  conversation  is  preferably  about  feminine  things, — 
fashions,  needlework,  cooking  and  household  work. 

The  patient  is  well  nourished,  but  anaemic.  He  is 
of  neuropathic  constitution,  and  presents  symptoms  of 
neurasthenia,  which  are  maintained  by  a  bad  manner  of 
of  life,  lying  abed,  living  in-doors,  and  effeminateness. 

He  complains  of  occasional  pain  and  pressure  in  the 
head,  and  has  habitual  constipation.  He  is  easily  frightened ; 
complains  of  occasional  lassitude  and  fatigue,  and  drawing 
pains  in  the  extremities,  in  the  direction  of  the  lumbo- 
abdominal  nerves.  After  pollutions,  and  regularly  after 
eating,  he  feels  tired  and  relaxed ;  he  is  sensitive  to 
pressure  over  the  spinous  processes  of  the  dorsal  vertebrae, 
as  also  to  pressure  along  accessible  nerves.  He  feels  pecuhar 
sympathies  and  antipathies  towards  certain  persons,  and, 
when  he  meets  people  for  whom  he  has  an  antipathy, 
he  falls  into  a  condition  of  peculiar  fear  and  confusion. 
His  pollutions,  though  now  they  occur  but  seldom,  are 
pathological,  in  that  they  occur  by  day,  and  are  unaccom- 
panied by  any  sensual  excitement. 

Opinion. 

1.  Mr.  V.  H.,  according  to  all  observations  and  reports, 
is  mentally  an  abnormal  and  defective  person,  and  that, 
in  fact,  ah  origine.  His  antipathic  sexual  instinct  repre- 
sents a  part  of  his  abnormal  physical  and  mental  condition. 

2.  This  condition,  in  that  it  is  congenital,  is  incurable. 
There  exists  defective  organisation  of  the  highest  cerebral 
centres,  which  renders  him  incapable  of  leading  an  in- 
dependent life,  and  of  obtaining  a  position  in  life.  His 
perverse   sexual   instinct   prevents   him   from   exercising 


ANDROGYNY.  389 

normal  sexual  functions  ;  and  this  is  attended  by  all  the 
social  consequences  of  such  an  anomaly,  and  the  danger 
of  satisfaction  of  perverse  impulses  arising  out  of  his 
abnormal  organisation,  with  consequent  social  and  legal 
conflicts.  Fear  of  the  latter,  however,  cannot  be  great, 
since  the  (perverse)  sexual  impulse  of  the  patient  is 
weak. 

3.  Mr.  V.  H.,  in  the  legal  sense  of  the  word,  is  not 
irresponsible,  and  neither  fit  for,  or  in  need  of,  treatment 
in  a  hospital  for  the  insane. 

It  is  possible  for  him — though  but  an  overgrown 
child,  and  incapable  of  personal  independence — to  live  in 
society,  even  under  the  care  and  guidance  of  normal 
individuals.  To  a  certain  extent,  it  is  possible  for  him  to 
respect  the  laws  and  restrictions  of  society,  and  to  judge 
his  own  acts  ;  but,  with  respect  to  possible  sexual  errors 
and  conflicts  with  criminal  laws,  it  must  be  emphasised 
that  his  sexual  instinct  is  abnormal,  having  its  origin 
in  organic  pathological  conditions  ;  and  this  circumstance 
should  eventually  be  used  in  his  favour.  On  account  of 
his  notorious  lack  of  independence,  he  cannot  be  dis- 
charged from  parental  care  or  guardianship,  inasmuch 
as  otherwise  he  would  be  ruined  financially. 

4.  Mr.  V.  H.  is  also  physically  ill.  He  presents  signs 
of  slight  anaemia  and  of  neurasthenia  spinalis. 

A  rational  regulation  of  his  manner  of  life  and  a  tonic 
regimen,  and,  if  possible,  hydro-therapeutic  treatment, 
seem  necessary.  The  suspicion  that  this  trouble  has  its 
origin  in  early  masturbation  should  be  entertained,  and 
the  possibility  of  the  existence  of  spermatorrhoea,  that  is 
of  importance  etiologically  and  therapeutically,  is  probable. 
(Personal  case.   Zeitschr.  /.  Psychiatrie.) 


^90  psychopathia  sexualis. 

Sexual  Inveksion  in  Woman.^ 

Science  in  its  present  stage  has  but  few  data  to  fall 
back  on,  so  far  as  the  occurrence  ^  of  homosexual  instinct 
in  woman  is  concerned  as  compared  with  man. 

It  would  not  be  fair  to  draw  from  this  the  conclusion 
that  sexual  inversion  in  woman  is  rare,  for  if  this  anomaly 
is  really  a  manifestation  of  functional  degeneration,  then 
degenerative  influences  will  prevail  ahke  in  the  female 
as  well  as  in  the  male. 

The  causes  of  apparent  infrequency  in  woman  may  be 
found  in  the  following  facts:  (1)  It  is  more  difficult  to 
gain  the  confidence  of  the  sexually  perverse  woman  ;  (2) 
this  anomaly,  in  so  far  as  it  leads  to  sexual  intercourse, 
inter  feminas,  does  not  fall  (in  Germany  at  any  rate)  under 
the  criminal  code,  and  therefore  remains  hidden  from 
public  knowledge  ;  (3)  sexual  inversion  does  not  affect 
woman  in  the  same  manner  as  it  does  man,  for  it  does 
not  render  woman  impotent  ;  (4)  because  woman  (whether 
sexually  inverted  or  not)  is  by  nature  not  as  sensual  and 
certainly  not  as  aggressive  in  the  pursuit  of  sexual  needs 
as  man,  for  which  reason  the  inverted  sexual  intercourse 
among  women  is  less  noticeable,  and  by  outsiders  is 
considered  mere  friendship.  Indeed,  there  are  cases  on 
record  (psychical  hermaphrodism,  even  homosexuality) 
in  which  the  causes  of  frigiditas  uxoris  remain  unknown 
even  to  the  husband. 

1  Literature  :  Havelock  Ellis,  "  Alienist  and  Neurologist,"  April,  1895  ; 
Moll,  "  Contriire  Sexualempfindung,"  second  edition,  p.  322. 

2  Observations  :  (1)  Wcstphal,  "  Arch.  f.  Psych.,"  ii.,  p.  73  ;  (2)  Gock,  op. 
cit,  No  1.  ;  (3)  Wise,  "  The  Alienist  and  Neurologist,"  January,  1883;  (4) 
Cantarano,  "  La  Psichiatria,  1883,"  p.  201  ;  (5)  Serieux,  op.  cit.,  obs.  14  ; 
(6)  Kiernan,  op.  cit. ;  (7)  Milller,  Friedreich's  "  Bliiicer  f.  ger.  Med.,"  18al, 
Heft  4. ;  (8-13)  Moll,  "  Contrare  Sexualempfindung,  2  Aufl.  Beob.,  18,  19, 
20,  21,  22,  23  ;  (14)  Meijhofer,  "  Zeitsch.  f.  Medicinalbeamte,"  v.,  16 ;  (15- 
16)  Zuccarelli,  "  Inversione  congenita  in  due  donne,"  Napoli,  1888  ;  (17- 
27)  Moll,  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  Libido  sexualis,"  FaUe  10-12,  40-44,  47, 
56,  57;  (28-29)  Havelock  Ellis,  op.  cit.;  (30)  Penta  e  Ursa,  "  Archiv.  delle 
psichopatie  sexuali,"  p.  33 ;  (31)  Penta,  ibid.,  p.  94. 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  391 

Certain  passages  in  the  Bible/  the  history  of  Greece 
("Sapphic  Love")»  the  moral  history  of  ancient  Eome 
and  of  the  Middle  Ages,'''  offer  proofs  that  congressus 
intersexualis  feminarum  took  place  at  all  times,  the  same 
as  it  is  practised  now-a-days  in  the  harem,  in  female 
prisons,  brothels  and  young  ladies'  seminaries  {vide  infra, 
amor  lesbicus). 

Still  it  must  be  admitted  that  many  of  these  cases 
are  to  be  reduced  to  causes  of  perversity  and  not  per- 
version.^ So  far  as  the  clinical  aspect  is  concerned  I  may 
be  brief,  for  this  anomaly  shows  the  same  qualifications  alike 
in  man  and  woman,  mutatis  mtitaiidis,  and  runs  through 
the  same  grades.  Psychico-hermaphrodisic  and  many  homo- 
sexual women  do  not  betray  their  anomaly  by  external 
appearances  nor  by  mental  (masculine)  sexual  characteris- 
tics. Remarkable,  however,  it  is  that  Dr.  Flatau  {Moll, 
op.  cit.,  p.  334)  in  examining  the  larynx  of  twenty-three 
homosexual  women  found  in  several  of  them  a  decidedly 
masculine  formation. 

In  the  transition  to  the  subsequent  grade,  i.e.,  that  of 
viraginity  (analogous  to  ejfemhiatio  in  the  male)  strong 
preference  for  male  garments  will  be  found.  In  dreams, 
but  also  in  the  ideal  or  real  homosexual  function, 
the  individual  in  question  plays  an  indifferent  sexual 
role. 

1  Paul,  Epist.  ad  Rom.  ^  Floss,  op.  cit. 

3  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  fiction,  lesbic  love  is  frequently  used 
as  the  leading  theme,  viz.,  Diderot,  '•  La  Beligieuse  "  ;  Balzac,  "  La  fille 
aux  yeux  d'or";  Th.  Gautier,  "Mademoiselle  de  Maupin  "  ;  Feydeau, 
"  La  Comtesse  de  chalis  "  ;  Flaubert,  "  SalammbO  "  ;  Belot,  "  Mademoiselle 
Giraud,  ma  femme,"  etc. 

The  heroines  of  these  (lesbic)  novelles  appear  to  the  beloved  persons 
of  the  same  sex  in  the  character  and  the  rSle  of  a  man  ;  their  love  is  most 
intense. 

The  oldest  case  of  sexual  inversion  recorded  thus  far  in  Germany  ia 
one  of  viraginity  dating  as  far  back  as  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  It  is  that  of  a  woman  vyho  was  married  to  another  woman 
cohabiting  with  the  consort  by  means  of  a  leathern  priapus.  Vide  Dr. 
Mullej-  in  Friedreich's  "  Blatter  f.  ger.  Med."  1891,  Heft  4. 


392  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Where  viraginity  is  fully  developed,  the  woman  so 
acting  assumes  definitely  the  masculine  role. 

In  this  grade  modesty  finds  expression  only  towards 
the  same  but  not  the  opposite  sex. 

In  such  cases  the  sexual  anomaly  often  manifests  itself 
by  strongly  marked  characteristics  of  male  sexuality. 

The  female  urning  may  chiefly  be  found  in  the  haunts 
of  boys.  She  is  the  rival  in  their  play,  preferring  the 
rocking-horse,  playing  at  soldiers,  etc.,  to  dolls  and  other 
girlish  occupations.  The  toilet  is  neglected,  and  rough 
boyish  manners  are  affected.  Love  for  art  finds  a  sub- 
stitute in  the  pursuit  of  the  sciences.  At  times  smoking 
and  drinking  are  cultivated  even  with  passion. 

Perfumes  and  sweetmeats  are  disdained.  The  con- 
sciousness of  being  a  woman  and  thus  to  be  deprived  of 
the  gay  college  life,  or  to  be  barred  out  from  the  military 
career,  produces  painful  reflections. 

The  masculine  soul,  heaving  in  the  female  bosom, 
finds  pleasure  in  the  pursuit  of  manly  sports,  and  in 
manifestations  of  courage  and  bravado.  There  is  a  strong 
desire  to  imitate  the  male  fashion  in  dressing  the  hair 
and  in  general  attire,  under  favourable  circumstances  even 
to  don  male  attire  and  impose  in  it.  Arrests  of  women 
in  men's  clothing  are  by  no  means  of  rare  occurrence. 
A  case  of  a  woman  who  for  years  successfully  posed  as 
a  man  (hunter,  soldier,  etc.,)  is  related  by  Mailer  in 
Friedreich's  "Blattern";  another  by  Wise  {op.  cit.)  and 
others. 

The  ideals  of  such  viragines  are  certain  female  characters 
who  in  the  past  or  the  present  have  excelled  by  virtue  of 
genius  and  brave  and  noble  deeds. 

Gynandry  represents  the  extreme  grade  of  degenerative 
homosexuahty.  The  woman  of  this  type  possesses  of  the 
feminine  quahties  only  the  genital  organs ;  thought,  senti- 
ment, action,  even  external  appearance  are  those  of  the 
man. 

Often   enough   does    one    come    across    in    life    such 


SEXUAL    INVEESION    IN    WOMAN.  393 

characters,  whose  frame,  pelvis,  gait,  appearance,  coarse 
masculine  features,  rough  deep  voice,  etc.,  betray  rather 
the  man  than  the  woman  Moll  (op.  cit.  p.  331)  has  given 
many  interesting  items  about  the  mode  of  life  led  by  these 
men-women,  and  about  the  way  in  which  they  satisfy 
their  sexual  needs. 

Mutatis  mutandis,  the  situation  is  the  same  as  with  the 
man-loving  man.  These  creatures  seek,  find,  recognise, 
love  one  another,  often  hve  together  as  "father"  and 
"mother"  in  pseudo  marriage.  Suspicion  may  always 
be  turned  towards  homosexuality  when  one  reads  in  the 
advertisement  columns  of  the  daily  papers  :  "  Wanted,  by 
a  lady,  a  lady  friend  and  companion  ". 

Numerous  psychical  hermaphrodites  of  the  female 
gender,  and  even  homosexualists,  enter  upon  matrimony 
with  men  partly  on  account  of  being  ignorant  of  their 
own  anomaly,  and  partly  because  they  wish  to  be  pro- 
vided for.  Some  of  these  marriages  linger  on  in  a  way, 
the  husband,  perhaps,  being  psychically  sympathetic,  thus 
rendering  the  marital  act  possible  to  the  unhappy  wife. 
But  in  most  cases,  when  one  or  two  children  have  been 
born,  she  seeks  under  all  kinds  of  pretexts  to  avoid  the 
connubial  duty. 

More  frequently,  however,  incompatibihty  wrecks  these 
unions.  Homosexual  intercourse  continues  after  marriage 
just  the  same  as  with  the  homosexual  man. 

When  viraginity  prevails  marriage  is  impossible,  for 
the  very  thought  of  coitus  cum  viro  arouses  disgust  and 
horror. 

The  intersexual  gratification  among  these  women 
seems  to  be  reduced  to  kissing  and  embraces,  which 
seems  to  satisfy  those  of  weak  sexual  instinct,  but  pro- 
duces in  sexually  neurasthenic  females  ejaculation. 

Automasturbation,  faute  de  miciix,  seems  to  occur  in  all 
grades  of  the  anomaly  the  same  as  in  men. 

Strongly  sensual  individuals  may  resort  to  cunnilingas 
or  mutual  masturbation. 


394  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

In  grades  3  and  4  the  desire  to  adopt  the  active  role 
towards  the  beloved  person  of  the  same  sex  seems  to 
invite  the  use  of  the  priapus. 

Case  1  27.    Psychical  hermaphrodism.    Mrs.  X.,  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  suffers  from  neurasthenia.    She  is  heredi- 
tarily tainted,  suffers  periodically  from  delusions.      She 
has  been  married  seven  years,  has  two  healthy  children,  a 
boy  of  six  and  a  girl  four  years  old.     Success  in  gaining 
the  confidence  of  the  patient. .    She  confesses  that   she 
always  inclined  more  to  persons  of  her  own  sex,  and  that, 
although  she  esteems  and  Hkes  her  husband,  sexual  inter- 
course disgusts  her.     Since  the  birth  of  the  younger  of  the 
two  children  she  has  prevailed  upon  him  to  give  it  up 
altogether.     When  at  the  seminary  she  interested  herself 
in  other  young  ladies  in  a  manner  which  she  can  only 
describe  as  love.     At  times,  however,  she  also  found  her- 
self drawn   to  certain   gentlemen,  and  especially  of  late 
her  virtue  had  been  sorely  tried  by  an  admirer  to  whose 
advances  she  was  afraid  she  might  succumb,  for  which 
reason   she   avoided    being  alone  with  him.      But  such 
episodes  were  only  of  a  quite  transient  character  as  com- 
pared with  her  passionate  liking  for  persons  of  her  own 
sex.     Her  whole  desire  was  to  be  kissed  and  embraced  by 
them  and  have  the  most  intimate  intercourse  with  them. 
She  suffered  much  from  nervousness  because  she  could 
not   always   reahse   these  desires.      The   patient   is  not 
aware  of  this  inclination  to  persons  of  the  same  sex  being 
of  a  sexual  character,  for  beyond  kissing,  embracing,  or 
fondhng  them  she  would  not  know  what  to  do  with  them. 
Patient  thinks  herself  to  be  of  a  sensual  nature.     It  is 
likely  that  she  is  addicted  to  masturbation. 

She  considers  her  sexual  perversion  as  "unnatural, 
morbid  ". 

There  is  nothing  in  the  behaviour  or  the  manners  or 
the  external  appearance  of  this  lady  which  in  the  least 
betrays  her  anomaly. 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  395 

Case  128.  Psychical  hermaphrodism.  Mrs.  M.,  forty- 
four  years  of  age,  claims  to  be  an  instance  illustrating  the 
fact  that  in  one  and  the  same  human  being,  be  it  man  or 
woman,  the  inverted  as  well  as  the  normal  direction  of 
sexual  life  may  be  combined.  The  father  of  this  lady  was 
very  musical,  generally  possessed  considerable  talents  for 
art,  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  gentle  sex,  and  himself  of 
exceptional  beauty.  He  died,  after  repeated  apoplectic 
attacks,  with  dementia  in  an  asylum.  His  brother  was 
neuropsychopathic,  as  a  child  was  afflicted  with  somnam- 
bulism, and  later  on  with  hypercesthesia  sexualis.  Although 
married  and  father  of  several  married  sons,  he  fell  despe- 
rately in  love  with  Mrs.  M.,  then  eighteen  years  of  age, 
and  attempted  to  abduct  her. 

Her  grandfather  (on  the  paternal  side)  was  very  eccen- 
tric and  a  well-known  artist,  who  had  originally  studied 
theology,  but  for  love  of  the  dramatic  art  became  a  mimic 
and  singer.  He  was  given  to  excess  in  Baccho  et  Venere, 
extravagant  and  fond  of  splendour,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-nine  from  apoplexia  cerebri.  Her  mother's  father  and 
her  mother  both  died  of  pulmonary  phthisis. 

She  had  eleven  brothers  and  sisters,  of  whom  only  six 
are  alive  now.  Two  brothers  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
and  twenty  of  tuberculosis.  One  brother  is  suffering  from 
laryngeal  phthisis.  Four  living  sisters  the  same  as  Mrs. 
M.  are  physically  like  unto  the  father,  very  nervous  and 
shy.  Two  younger  sisters  are  married  and  in  good  health, 
and  both  have  healthy  children.  Another  one,  a  maiden, 
is  suffering  from  nervous  affection. 

Mrs.  M.  is  the  mother  of  four  children,  several  of 
whom  are  rather  delicate  and  neuropathic. 

There  is  nothing  of  importance  in  the  history  of  the 
patient's  childhood.  She  learned  easily,  had  gifts  for 
poetry  and  aesthetics,  was  somewhat  affected,  loved  to 
read  novels  and  sentimental  literature,  was  of  neuropathic 
constitution  and  very  sensitive  to  changes  of  temperature, 
the  slightest  draught  would  make  her  flesh  creep.     It  is 


396  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

noteworthy,  however,  that  one  day  when  ten  years  of  age 
she  fancied  her  mother  did  not  love  her.  Thereupon  she 
put  a  lot  of  sulphur  matches  in  her  coffee  and  drank  it  to 
make  herself  ill,  in  order  to  draw  her  mother's  love  to 
herself. 

Puberty  began  without  difficulty  at  the  age  of  eleven, 
with  subsequent  regular  menses.  Even  previous  to  that 
period  sexual  life  had  awakened,  which  ever  since  was 
very  potent.  The  first  sentiments  and  emotions  lay  in 
the  homosexual  direction.  She  conceived  a  passionate, 
though  platonic,  affection  for  a  young  lady,  wrote  love- 
songs  and  sonnets  to  her,  and  never  was  happier  than 
when,  upon  one  occasion,  she  could  admire  the  "  charms 
of  her  beloved"  in  the  bath,  or  when  she  could  gaze 
upon  the  neck,  shoulders  and  breasts  of  this  lady  whilst 
dressing.  She  could  resist  only  with  difficulty  the  desire 
to  touch  these  physical  charms.  When  a  girl  she  was 
deeply  in  love  with  Raphael's  and  Guido  Eeni's  Madonnas. 
She  was  irresistibly  impelled  to  follow  pretty  girls  and 
ladies  by  the  hour,  no  matter  how  inclement  the  weather 
might  be,  admiring  their  air  of  refinement  and  watching 
for  a  chance  of  showing  them  a  favour,  giving  them 
flowers,  etc.  The  patient  asserts  that  up  to  her  nineteenth 
year  she  had  not  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  difference 
of  sexes,  since  she  had  been  brought  up  by  a  prudish  old 
maiden  aunt  like  a  nun  in  a  cloister.  In  consequence  of 
this  crass  ignorance  she  fell  a  victim  to  a  man  who  loved 
her  passionately  and  insidiously  betrayed  her  virtue.  She 
became  the  wife  of  this  man,  gave  birth  to  a  child, 
and  led  an  "eccentrically"  sexual  hfe  with  him,  but  felt 
satisfied  with  the  sexual  intercourse.  A  few  years  later 
she  became  a  widow.  Since  then  her  affections  again 
turned  to  persons  of  her  own  sex,  the  principal  reason  for 
which  was,  the  patient  thinks,  the  fear  of  the  results  of 
sexual  intercourse  with  man. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  she  entered  upon  a  second 
marriage  with  a  man  of  infirm  constitution.     It  was  not 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN   WOMAN.  397 

a  love  match.  Thrice  she  became  a  mother,  and  fulfilled 
all  the  conditions  of  maternity  ;  but  her  health  ran  down, 
and  during  the  latter  years  her  dislike  for  coitus  ever 
increased,  chiefly  on  account  of  her  husband's  infirmity, 
although  her  desire  for  sexual  gratification  remained 
strong. 

Three  years  after  her  second  husband's  death,  she 
discovered  that  her  daughter  by  the  first  husband,  now 
nine  years  of  age,  was  given  to  masturbation  and  going 
into  decline.  She  read  an  article  about  this  vice  in  the 
EncydopcBdia,  and  now  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
try  it  herself,  and  thus  became  an  onanist.  She  hesitates 
to  give  a  full  account  of  this  period  of  her  life.  She 
states,  however,  that  she  became  sexually  so  excited  that 
she  had  to  send  her  two  daughters  away  from  home  in 
order  to  preserve  them  from  something  "  terrible  ".  The 
two  boys  could  remain  at  home. 

Patient  became  neurasthenic  ex  masttirbatione  (spinal 
irritation,  pressure  in  the  head,  languor,  mental  constipa- 
tion, etc.)  at  times  even  dysthymic,  with  worrying  tadium 
vita. 

Her  sexual  inclinations  turned  now  to  woman,  now 
to  marl.  But  she  controlled  herself,  suffered  much  from 
her  abstinence,  especially  since  she  resorted  to  mastur- 
bation on  account  of  her  neurasthenic  afflictions  only 
at  the  last  instance.  At  present  the  patient — now  forty- 
four  years  of  age,  but  still  having  regular  periods  —suffers 
from  a  violent  passion  for  a  young  man  with  wliom,  on 
account  of  her  avocation,  she  is  bound  to  be  in  constant 
contact. 

The  patient  does  not  offer  anything  extraordinary  in 
her  external  appearance,  though  graceful  of  Iniild,  she  is 
slight  of  form.  Pelvis  decidedly  feminine,  but  arms  and 
legs  large,  and  of  pronounced  mascuHne  type.  Female 
boots  do  not  reall}'  fit  her,  and  she  has  quite  crippled 
and  malformed  her  feet  by  forcing  them  into  narrow 
shoes.    Genitals  quite  normal.    Excepting  a  descensus  uteri 


398  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

with  hypertrophy  of  the  vaginal  portion,  no  changes  are 
noticeable.  She  still  claims  to  be  essentially  homosexual, 
and  declares  that  her  inclination  and  desire  for  the 
opposite  sex  are  only  periodical  and  grossly  sensual. 
Although  she  has  strong  sexual  feelings  towards  the  man 
aforementioned,  yet  her  greatest  and  noblest  pleasure 
she  finds  in  pressing  a  kiss  upon  the  soft  cheek  of  a 
sweet  girl.  This  pleasure  she  enjoys  often,  for  she  is 
the  "  favourite  aunt  "  among  these  "  dear  creatures,"  to 
whom  she  renders  the  services  of  the  "  cavalier  "  un- 
stintingly,  always  feeling  herself  in  the  role  of  the  man. 

Case  129.  Homosexuality.  Miss  L.,  fifty-five  years 
of  age.  No  information  about  her  father's  family.  The 
parents  of  her  mother  are  described  as  irascible,  capricious 
and  nervous.  One  brother  of  her  mother  is  an  epileptic, 
another  eccentric  and  mentally  abnormal. 

Mother  was  sexually  hypersesthetic,  and  for  a  long 
time  a  messalina.  She  was  considered  to  be  psychopathic 
and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  of  cerebral  disease. 

Miss  L.  developed  normally,  had  only  slight  illnesses 
in  childhood,  and  was  mentally  well  endowed,  but  of  a 
neuropathic  constitution,  emotional,  and  troubled  with 
numerous  fads. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen,  two  years  previous  to  her  first 
menstruation,  she  fell  in  love  with  a  girl-friend  ("  a 
dreamy  feeling,  quite  pure  of  sensuality  "). 

Her  second  love  was  for  a  girl  older  than  herself  who 
was  a  bride  ;  this  was  accompanied  by  tantalising  sensual 
desires,  jealousy,  and  an  "undefined  consciousness  of 
mystical  impropriety ".  She  was  refused  by  this  lady 
and  now  fell  in  love  with  a  married  woman,  who  was 
a  mother  and  twenty  years  lier  senior.  As  she  controlled 
her  sensual  emotions,  this  lady  never  even  divined  the 
true  reason  of  this  enthusiastic  friendship  which  lasted 
for  twelve  years.  Patient  describes  this  period  as  a 
veritable  martyrdom. 


SEXUAL   INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  399 

Since  she  was  twenty-five  she  had  begun  to  mastur- 
bate. Patient  seriously  thought  that,  perhaps,  by  marriage 
she  might  save  herself,  but  her  conscience  objected,  for 
her  children  might  inherit  her  weakness,  or  she  might 
make  a  sincere  husband  unhappy. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  she  was  approached  with 
direct  proposals  by  a  girl  who  denounced  abstinence  as 
absurd,  and  plainly  described  the  homosexual  instinct 
which  ruled  her  and  was  very  impetuous  in  her  demands. 
She  suffered  the  caresses  of  the  girl,  but  would  not  con- 
sent to  sexual  intercourse,  as  sensuality  without  love 
disgusted  her. 

Mentally  and  bodily  dissatisfied  the  years  fled  by, 
leaving  the  consciousness  of  a  spoiled  life.  Now  and  then 
she  became  enthusiastic  about  ladies  of  her  acquamtance, 
but  controlled  herself.  She  also  rid  herself  from  mastur- 
bation. 

When  she  was  thirty-eight  years  of  age  she  became 
acquainted  with  a  girl  nineteen  years  her  junior,  of  ex- 
ceptional beauty,  who  came  from  a  demoralised  family, 
and  had  been  at  an  early  age  seduced  by  her  cousins  to 
mutual  masturbation.  It  cannot  be  ascertained  whether 
this  girl  A.  was  a  case  of  psychical  hermaphrodism  or  of 
acquired  sexual  inversion.  The  former  hypothesis  seems 
the  likelier  of  the  two. 

The  following  is  taken  from  an  autobiography  of  Miss 
L.  :— 

"  Miss  A.,  my  pupil,  began  to  show  me  her  idolatrous 
love.  She  was  sympathetic  to  the  highest  degree.  Since 
I  knew  that  she  was  entangled  in  a  hopeless  love  afi"air 
with  a  dissolute  fellow  and  continued  intimate  intercourse 
with  demoralised  female  cousins,  I  decided  not  to  repulse 
her.  Compassion  and  the  conviction  that  she  was  surely 
drifting  into  moral  decay  determined  me  to  suffer  her 
advances. 

"  I  did  not  consider  her  affection  as  dangerous,  as  I  did 
not  think  it  possible  that  (considering  her  love  affair)  in 


400  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

ONE  soul  two  passions  (one  for  a  man  and  another  for  a 
woman)  could  exist  simultaneously.  Moreover,  I  was 
certain  of  my  power  of  resistance.  I  kept,  therefore,  Miss 
A.  about  me,  renewed  my  moral  resolutions,  and  con- 
sidered it  to  be  my  duty  to  use  her  love  for  me  for 
ennobling  her  character.  The  folly  of  this  I  soon  found 
out.  One  day  whilst  I  lay  asleep  Miss  A.  took  occasion 
to  satisfy  her  lust  on  me.  Although  I  woke  up  just  in 
time,  I  did  not  have  the  moral  strength  to  resist  her. 
I  was  highly  excited,  intoxicated  as  it  were — and  she 
prevailed. 

"  What  I  suffered  immediately  after  this  occurrence 
beggars  description.  Worry  over  the  broken  resolutions, 
which  to  keep  I  had  made  such  strenuous  efforts,  fear  of 
detection  and  subsequent  contempt,  exuberant  joy  at  last 
to  be  rid  of  the  torturing  watchings  and  longings  of  the 
single  state,  unspeakable  sensual  pleasure,  wrath  against 
the  evil  companion,  mingled  with  feelings  of  the  deepest 
tenderness  towards  her.  Miss  A.  calmly  smiled  at  my 
excitement,  and  with  caresses  soothed  my  anger. 

"  I  accepted  the  situation.  Our  intimacy  lasted  for 
years.  We  practised  mutual  masturbation,  but  never  to 
excess  or  in  a  cynical  fashion. 

"Little  by  little  this  sensual  companionship  ceased. 
Miss  A.'s  tenderness  weakened  ;  mine,  however,  remained 
as  before,  although  I  felt  no  longer  the  same  sensual 
cravings.  Miss  A.  thought  of  marriage,  partly  in  order  to 
find  a  home,  but  especially  because  her  sensual  desires  had 
turned  into  the  normal  paths.  She  succeeded  in  finding 
a  husband.  I  sincerely  hope  she  will  make  him  happy, 
but  I  doubt  it.  Thus  I  have  the  prospect  before  me  to 
linger  on  the  same  joyless,  peaceless  life  as  it  ever  was  in 
youthful  days. 

"  It  is  with  sadness  that  I  remember  the  years  of  our 
loving  union.  It  does  not  disturb  my  conscience  to  have 
had  sexual  intercourse  with  Miss  A.,  for  I  succumbed  to 
her  seduction,  having  honestly  endeavoured  to  save  her 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  401 

from  moral  ruin  and  to  bring  her  up  an  educated  and 
moral  being.  In  this  I  honestly  think  I  have  succeeded 
after  all.  Besides,  I  rest  in  the  thought  that  the  moral 
code  is  established  only  for  normal  humans,  but  is  not 
binding  for  anomalies.  Of  course,  the  human  being  who 
is  endowed  by  nature  with  sentiments  of  refinement,  but 
whose  constitution  is  abnormal  and  outside  the  conven- 
tionalities of  society,  can  never  be  truly  happy.  But  I 
experienced  a  sad  tranquillity  and  felt  happy  when  I 
thought  Miss  A.  to  be  so  too. 

"  This  is  the  history  of  an  unhappy  woman  who,  by 
the  fatal  caprice  of  nature,  is  deprived  of  all  joy  of  hfe 
and  made  a  victim  of  sorrow." 

The  author  of  this  woeful  story  is  a  lady  of  great  refine- 
ment. But  she  has  coarse  features,  a  powerful  but  through- 
out feminine  frame.  A  few  years  ago  she  passed  through 
the  climacterium  without  trouble,  and  since  then  has  been 
entirely  free  from  sensual  worry.  Sexually  she  has  never 
played  a  defined  role  towards  the  woman  she  loved  ;  for 
men  she  never  felt  the  shghtest  inclination. 

Her  statements  about  the  family  relations  and  the 
health  of  her  paramour,  Miss  A.,  estabhsh  a  heavy  taint 
beyond  doubt.  The  father  died  in  an  insane  asylum,  the 
mother  was  deranged  during  the  period  of  her  climac- 
terium, neuroses  were  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
family,  and  Miss  A.  herself  suffered  at  times  heavily  from 
hysteropathy,  with  hallucinations  and  delirium. 

Case  130.  Homosexuality.  S.  J.,  age  thirty-eight, 
governess.  Came  to  me  for  medical  advice  on  account 
of  nervous  trouble.  Father  was  periodically  insane,  and 
died  from  cerebral  disease.  Patient  is  an  only  child. 
She  suffered  early  from  anxiety  and  alarming  fancies, 
e.g.,  that  she  would  wake  up  in  a  coffin  after  it  had  been 
fastened  down  ;  that  she  would  forget  something  when 
going  to  confession,  and  thus  receive  holy  communion 
unworthily.     Was  often    troubled   with   headaches,   very 


402  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

excitable,  easily  startled,  but  notwithstanding  had  a  great 
desire  to  see  exciting  things  such  as  funerals,  etc. 

From  the  earliest  youth  she  was  subject  to  sexual 
excitement,  and  spontaneously  practised  masturbation. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  she  began  to  menstruate.  Her 
periods  were  often  accompanied  by  colicky  pains,  intense 
sexual  excitement,  neuralgia  and  mental  depression.  With 
the  age  of  eighteen  she  gave  up  masturbation  success- 
fully. 

The  patient  never  experienced  an  inclination  towards 
a  person  of  the  opposite  sex.  Marriage  to  her  only  meant 
to  find  a  home.  But  she  was  mightily  drawn  to  girls. 
At  first  she  considered  this  affection  merely  as  friendship, 
but  she  soon  recognised  from  the  intensity  of  her  love 
for  girl  friends  and  her  deep  longings  for  their  constant 
society  that  it  meant  more  than  mere  friendship. 

To  her  it  is  inconceivable  that  a  girl  could  love  a  man, 
although  she  can  comprehend  the  feeling  of  man  toward 
woman.  She  always  took  the  deepest  interest  in  pretty 
girls  and  ladies,  the  sight  of  whom  caused  her  intense 
excitement.  Her  desire  was  ever  to  embrace  and  kiss 
these  dear  creatures.  She  never  dreams  of  men,  always 
of  girls  only.  To  revel  in  looking  at  them  was  the  acme 
of  pleasure.  Whenever  she  lost  a  "  girl  friend  "  she  felt 
in  despair. 

Patient  claims  that  she  never  felt  in  a  defined  role, 
even  in  her  dreams,  towards  her  girl  friends.  In  appear- 
ance she  is  thoroughly  feminine  and  modest.  Feminine 
pelvis,  large  mammae,  no  indication  of  beard. 

Case  131.  Homosexuality.  Mrs.  E.,  aged  thirty-five, 
of  high  social  position,  was  brought  to  me  in  1886  by  her 
husband  for  advice. 

Father  was  a  physician ;  very  neuropathic.  Paternal 
grandfather  was  healthy  and  normal,  and  reached  the  age 
of  ninety-six.  Facts  concerning  paternal  grandmother 
are  wanting.     All  the  children  of  father's  family  are  said 


SEXUAL   INVERSION    IN   WOMAN.  403 

to  have  been-  nervous.  The  patient's  mother  was 
nervous,  and  suffered  with  asthma.  The  mother's 
parents  were  healthy.  One  of  the  mother's  sisters  had 
melanchoha. 

From  her  tenth  year  patient  has  been  subject  to 
habitual  headache.  With  the  exception  of  measles,  she 
has  had  no  illness.  She  was  gifted,  and  enjoyed  the 
best  of  training,  having  especial  talent  for  music  and 
languages.  It  became  necessary  for  her  to  prepare  her- 
self for  the  work  of  a  governess,  and  during  her  earlier 
years  she  was  mentally  overworked.  She  passed  through 
an  attack  of  melancholia  sine  delirio,  of  some  months' 
duration,  at  seventeen.  The  patient  asserts  that  she  has 
always  had  sympathy  only  for  her  own  sex,  and  found 
only  an  aesthetic  interest  in  men.  She  never  had  any 
taste  for  female  work.  As  a  Httle  girl,  she  preferred  to 
play  with  boys. 

She  says  she  remained  well  until  her  twenty-seventh 
year.  Then,  without  external  cause,  she  became  depressed 
and  considered  herself  a  bad,  sinful  person,  had  no  plea- 
sure in  anything,  and  was  sleepless.  During  this  time  of 
illness  she  was  also  troubled  with  delusions  :  she  must 
think  of  her  death  and  that  of  her  relatives.  Kecovery 
after  about  five  months.  She  then  became  a  governess, 
was  overworked,  but  remained  well,  except  for  occasional 
neurasthenic  symptoms  and  spinal  irritation. 

At  twenty-eight  she  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  lady 
five  years  younger  than  herself.  She  fell  in  love  with 
her,  and  her  love  was  returned.  The  love  was  very 
sensual,  and  satisfied  by  mutual  masturbation.  "  I  loved 
her  as  a  god  ;  hers  is  a  noble  soul,"  she  said,  when  she 
mentioned  this  love-bond.  It  lasted  four  years  and  was 
ended  by  the  (unfortunate)  marriage  of  her  friend. 

In  1885,  after  much  emotional  strain,  the  patient 
became  ill  with  symptoms  of  hystero-neurasthenia  (dys- 
pepsia, spinal  irritation,  and  tonic  spasmodic  attacks ; 
attacks  of  hemiopia  with  migraine  and  trausitory  aphasia; 


404  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

pruritus  pudendi  et  ani).  In  February,  1886,  these  symp- 
toms disappeared. 

In  March  she  became  acquainted  with  her  present 
husband,  whom  she  married  without  taking  much  time 
for  reflection  ;  for  he  was  rich,  much  in  love  with  her, 
and  his  character  was  in  sympathy  with  her  own. 

On  6th  April,  she  read  the  sentence,  "  Death  misses 
no  one  ".  Like  a  flash  of  lightning  in  a  clear  sky,  the 
former  delusions  of  death  returned.  She  was  forced  to 
meditate  on  the  most  horrible  manner  of  death  for 
herself  and  those  about  her,  and  constantly  imagined 
death-scenes.  She  lost  rest  and  sleep,  and  took  no 
pleasure  in  anything.  Her  condition  improved.  Late  in 
May,  1886,  she  was  married,  but  was  still  troubled  by 
painful  thoughts  at  that  time :  that  she  would  bring 
misfortune  on  her  husband  and  those  about  her. 

First  coitus  on  6th  June,  1886.  She  was  deeply  de- 
pressed morally  by  it.  She  had  had  no  such  conception 
of  matrimony.  The  husband,  who  really  loved  his  wife, 
did  all  he  could  to  quiet  her.  He  consulted  physicians, 
who  thought  all  would  be  well  after  pregnancy.  The 
husband  was  unable  to  explain  the  peculiar  behaviour 
of  his  wife.  She  was  friendly  toward  him,  and  suffered 
his  caresses.  In  coitus,  which  was  actually  carried  out, 
she  was  entirely  passive,  and  after  the  act  she  was  tired, 
exhausted  all  day  long,  nervous,  and  troubled  with  spinal 
irritation. 

A  bridal  tour  brought  about  a  meeting  with  her  old 
friend,  who  had  lived  in  an  unhappy  marriage  for  three 
years.  The  two  ladies  trembled  with  joy  and  excitement 
as  they  sank  into  each  other's  arms,  and  became  insepar- 
able. The  husband  saw  that  this  friendly  relation  was 
a  peculiar  one,  and  hastened  their  departure.  He  had  an 
opportunity  of  ascertaining,  through  the  correspondence 
of  his  wife  with  this  friend,  that  the  letters  interchanged 
were  like  those  of  two  lovers. 

Mrs.   R.    became   pregnant.     During   pregnancy   the 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  405 

remains  of  depression  and  delusions  disappeared.  In 
September,  during  about  the  ninth  week  of  pregnancy, 
abortion  took  place.  After  that,  renewed  symptoms  of 
hystero-neurasthenia.  In  addition  to  this,  there  were 
anteflexio  et  latero-positio  dextra  uteri,  ancsmia,  et  atonia 
ventriculi. 

At  the  consultation  the  patient  gave  the  impression 
of  a  very  neuropathic,  tainted  person.  The  neuropathic 
expression  of  the  eyes  cannot  be  described.  Appearance 
entirely  feminine  With  the  exception  of  a  very  narrow, 
arched  palate,  there  was  no  skeletal  abnormahty.  With 
difficulty  the  patient  could  be  brought  to  give  the  details 
of  her  sexual  abnormality.  She  complained  that  she  had 
married  without  knowing  what  marriage  between  men 
and  women  was.  She  loved  her  husband  dearly  for  his 
mental  qualities,  but  marital  intercourse  was  a  pain  to 
her ;  she  did  it  unwillingly,  without  ever  finding  any 
satisfaction  in  it.  Post  actum,  all  day  long  she  was  weary 
and  exhausted.  Since  the  abortion  and  the  interdiction 
of  sexual  intercourse  by  the  physicians,  she  had  been 
better  ;  but  she  thought  of  the  future  with  horror.  She 
esteemed  her  husband,  and  loved  him  mentally  ;  but  she 
would  do  anything  for  him,  if  he  would  but  avoid  her 
sexually  in  the  future.  She  hoped  to  have  sexual  feeling 
for  him  in  time.  When  he  played  the  violin,  she  seemed 
to  feel  the  beginning  of  an  inclination  for  him  that  was 
sometbing  more  than  friendship  ;  but  it  was  only  tran- 
sitory, and  she  could  get  no  assurance  for  the  future 
in  it.  Her  greatest  happiness  was  in  correspondence  with 
her  former  lover.  She  felt  that  this  was  wrong,  but  she 
could  not  give  it  up  ;  for  to  do  so  made  her  miserable. 

Case  132.  Homosexuality.  Miss  X.  belongs  to  the 
middle  class  in  a  large  city.  At  the  end  of  my  observa- 
tions she  was  twenty-two  years  of  age. 

She  is  considered  a  beauty ;  much  admired  by  men ; 
decidedly  sensual  ;  a  born  Aspasia ;  refused  all  proposals 


406  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

of  marriage.  She  reciprocated,  however,  the  advances  of 
one  admirer,  a  youthful  scholar,  entertained  relations  with 
him,  that  is  to  say,  she  allowed  him  to  kiss  her,  but  not 
as  a  lover.  "When  on  one  occasion  Mr.  T.  thought  he  had 
obtained  the  aim  of  his  attentions,  she  begged  him  under 
tears  to  desist,  alleging  that  her  refusal  was  not  based 
upon  moral  principles,  but  rooted  in  deeper  psychical 
reasons.  Subsequent  epistolary  correspondence  between 
the  two  disclosed  the  existence  of  sexual  inversion. 

Her  father  was  given  to  drink,  her  mother  hystero- 
pathic.  She  herself  is  of  neuropathic  constitution,  has  a 
large  bust  and  the  appearance  of  an  exceptionally  hand- 
some woman,  but  is  strikingly  mannish  in  her  manners, 
has  masculine  tastes,  loves  gymnastics  and  horseback 
exercise,  smokes,  and  has  masculine  carriage  and  gait. 
She  would  like  to  go  on  the  stage. 

Recently  she  caused  much  talk  on  account  of  her 
enthusiastic  friendships  with  young  ladies.  One  young 
lady  lives  with  her.     They  sleep  in  the  same  bed. 

Up  to  her  puberty  Miss  X.  claims  to  have  been 
sexually  indifferent. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  whilst  at  a  spa,  she  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  young  foreigner  whose  "  royal  "  appear- 
ance fascinated  her.  She  was  happy  when,  on  a  certain 
occasion,  she  could  dance  with  him  the  whole  evening. 
The  next  evening  at  twiHght  she  happened  to  witness  the 
revolting  scene  of  this  charming  young  man  right  opposite 
from  her  window  in  the  shrubbery  of  the  gardens  futuare 
more  bestiarum  mulierem  quondam  inter  menstruationem. 
Aspectu  sanguinis  currentis  et  libidinis  quasi  bestialis  viri 
Miss  X.  was  horrified,  almost  annihilated,  and  felt  it 
difficult  to  recover  her  mental  balance.  For  a  long  time 
she  lost  her  sleep  and  appetite,  and  from  that  time  she 
has  seen  in  man  only  the  embodiment  of  coarse  vulgarity. 

Two  years  later,  in  a  public  park,  she  was  approached 
by  a  young  lady  who  smiled  and  looked  upon  her  in  such 
a  peculiar  fashion  that  she  felt  a  thrill  through  her  soul. 


SEXUAL   INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  407 

The  day  after,  Miss  X.  was  irresistibly  impelled  to  go 
to  the  park  again.  The  young  lady  was  already  there, 
and  seemed  to  be  waiting  for  her.  They  greeted  each 
other  like  old  acquaintances ;  talked  and  joked  together, 
made  fresh  appointments,  and  when  the  weather  became 
too  inclement  they  met  at  the  boudoir  of  the  young  lady. 

"  One  day,"  Miss  X.  relates  in  her  confidential  revela- 
tions, "  she  led  me  to  her  divan,  and  whilst  she  was  seated 
I  knelt  down  at  her  feet.  She  fastened  her  timid  eyes 
upon  me,  stroked  away  the  hair  from  my  forehead,  and 
said,  'Ah  !  if  I  only  could  love  you  once  really  !  May  I  ?' 
I  consented,  and  whilst  we  thus  sat  together,  gazing  into 
each  other's  eyes,  we  drifted  into  that  current  which 
allows  of  no  retreat.  .  .  .  She  was  enchantingly  beauti- 
ful. All  I  wished  was  to  possess  the  power  of  the  artist 
to  immortalise  that  form  upon  the  canvas.  To  me  it  was 
a  novel  experience.  I  was  intoxicated.  We  abandoned 
ourselves  to  each  other  without  restriction,  drunk  with 
the  ravages  of  sensual  feminine  pleasure.  I  do  not  believe 
that  man  can  ever  grasp  the  exuberance  of  such  piquant 
tenderness ;  man  is  not  sufficiently  refined ;  he  is  much 
too  coarse.  .  .  .  Our  wild  orgy  lasted  until  I  sank  down 
exhausted,  powerless,  unnerved.  I  fell  asleep  on  her  bed. 
Suddenly  I  awoke  with  an  unspeakable  thrill,  hitherto 
unknown  to  me,  running  through  my  whole  being.  She 
was  upon  me — cunnilingum  perficiens — the  highest  pleasure 
for  her,  tandem  mihi  non  licebat  altrum  quam  osculos  dare 
ad  mammas,  which  caused  her  to  quiver  convulsively. 

"  This  intercourse  lasted  for  a  whole  year,  when  the 
removal  of  her  father  to  another  city  separated  us." 

Miss  X.  admitted  that  in  this  homosexual  intercourse 
she  always  felt  in  the  role  of  man  towards  the  woman, 
and  that  on  one  occasion,  faute  de  mietcx,  she  granted 
cunnilingus  to  one  of  her  male  admirers. 

Case  133.  Homosexuality.  Mrs.  C,  aged  thirty-two 
wife  of  an  official,  a  large,  not  uncomely  woman,  feminine 


408  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

in  appearance,  conies  of  a  neuropathic  and  emotional 
mother.  A  brother  was  psychopathic,  and  died  of  drink. 
Patient  was  always  pecuhar,  obstinate,  silent,  quick- 
tempered, and  eccentric.  The  brothers  and  sisters  are 
excitable  people.  Pulmonary  phthisis  has  been  frequent 
in  the  family.  When  only  a  girl  of  thirteen,  with  signs 
of  great  sexual  excitement,  she  attracted  attention  by 
enthusiastic  love  for  a  female  friend  of  her  own  age.  Her 
education  was  strict,  though  the  patient  secretly  read 
many  novels,  and  wrote  innumerable  poems.  She  married 
at  eighteen  to  free  herself  from  unpleasant  circumstances 
at  home. 

She  says  she  has  always  been  indifferent  toward  men. 
In  fact,  she  avoided  balls.  Female  statues  pleased  her 
Her  greatest  happiness  was  to  think  of  marriage  with 
a  beloved  woman.  She  was  not  aware  of  her  sexual 
peculiarity  until  marriage,  and  the  thing  had  remained 
inexphcable  to  her.  Patient  did  her  marital  duty,  and 
bore  three  children,  two  of  whom  were  subject  to  con- 
vulsions. She  lived  pleasantly  with  her  husband,  but  she 
esteemed  him  only  for  his  moral  qualities.  She  gladly 
avoided  coitus.  "  I  should  have  preferred  intercourse 
with  a  woman." 

Until  1878  she  had  been  neurasthenic.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  a  sojourn  at  a  watering-place  she  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a  female  urning,  whose  history  I  have 
reported  as  case  6,  in  the  "  Irrenfreund,"  No.  1,  1884. 
The  patient  came  home  a  changed  person.  Her 
husband  says  :  "  She  was  no  longer  a  woman,  no  longer 
had  any  love  for  me  and  the  children,  and  would  have 
no  more  of  marital  approaches.  She  was  inflamed  with 
passionate  love  for  her  female  friend,  and  had  taste  for 
nothing  else."  After  the  husband  forbade  her  lover  the 
house,  there  was  interchange  of  letters  with  such  expres- 
sions in  them  as  "  My  dove  !  I  hve  only  for  you,  my 
soul ".  There  were  meetings  and  frightful  excitement 
when  an  expected  letter  did  not  come.      The  relation  was 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  409 

in  nowise  platonic.  From  certain  indications  it  is  pre- 
sumable that  mutual  masturbation  was  the  means  of 
sexual  satisfaction.  This  relation  lasted  until  1882,  and 
made  the  patient  decidedly  neurasthenic. 

She  absolutely  neglected  the  house,  and  her  husband 
hired  a  woman  of  sixty  years  as  a  housekeeper,  and  also 
a  governess  for  the  children.  The  patient  fell  in  love 
with  both,  who,  at  least,  allowed  caresses,  and  profited 
materially  through  the  love  of  their  mistress. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1883,  on  account  of  developing 
pulmonary  tuberculosis,  she  had  to  go  south.  There  she 
became  acquainted  with  a  Russian  lady  of  forty  years, 
and  fell  passionately  in  love  with  her ;  but  she  did  not 
meet  with  a  return  of  love  in  her  sense.  One  day  in- 
sanity became  manifest.  She  thought  the  Russian  lady 
a  nihilist ;  that  she  was  magnetised  by  her ;  and  she 
presented  formal  persecutory  delusions.  She  fled,  was 
caught  in  an  Italian  city,  and  placed  in  a  hospital,  where 
she  soon  became  quiet.  Again  she  worried  the  lady  with 
her  love,  felt  herself  very  unhappy,  and  planned  suicide. 

"When  she  returned  home,  she  was  greatly  depressed 
because  she  did  not  have  the  lady,  and  was  harsh  toward 
her  family.  A  delusive,  erotic  state  of  excitement  came 
on  about  the  end  of  May,  1884.  She  danced,  shouted, 
and  called  herself  a  man  ;  demanded  her  former  lover,  and 
said  she  was  of  royal  blood.  She  escaped  from  the  house 
in  male  attire,  and  was  taken  to  the  asylum  in  a  state 
of  eroto-maniacal  excitement.  After  a  few  days  the 
exaltation  disappeared.  The  patient  became  quiet,  and 
made  a  desperate  attempt  at  suicide  ;  after  it  she  was 
in  great  anguish  of  mind  with  tadium  vita;.  The  perverse 
sexual  feeling  grew  less  and  less  noticeable  as  tuberculosis 
progressed.  The  patient  died  of  phthisis  in  the  beginning 
of  1885. 

The  examination  of  the  brain  presented  nothing  un- 
usual as  far  as  architecture  and  arrangement  of  convolu- 
tions were  concerned.     Weight  of  l)rain  1150  grammes. 


410  PSYCHOPATHIA"  SEXUALIS. 

Skull  slightly  asymmetrical.  No  anatomical  signs  of 
degeneration.  External  and  internal  genitals  without 
anomaly. 

Case  134.  Viraginity.  Miss  N.,  twenty-five  years  of 
age.  Parents  supposed  to  be  healthy.  Her  brothers 
and  sisters  are  all  neuropathic.  Three  of  her  sisters  are 
married.  She  is  very  talented,  es[jecially  in  the  fine  arts. 
Even  in  her  earliest  childhood  she  preferred  playing  at 
soldiers  and  other  boys'  games ;  she  was  bold  and  tom- 
boyish,  and  tried  even  to  excel  her  little  companions  of 
the  other  sex.  She  never  had  a  liking  for  dolls,  needle- 
work or  domestic  duties.  Puberty  at  fifteen.  She  soon 
fell  in  love  with  young  ladies,  but  only  in  a  platonic 
fashion,  for  she  is  a  "respectable  girl".  For  several 
years  since  then  her  libido  is  very  strong.  She  can 
hardly  restrain  herself.  Her  dreams  are  of  a  lascivious 
character,  only  about  females,  with  herself  in  the  role  of 
man.  She  is  desperately  in  love  with  a  woman  of  forty, 
whom  she  torments  with  her  jealous  conduct. 

Miss  N.  is  indifferent  to  men.  She  could  safely  live 
with  a  man  in  the  same  room,  whilst  towards  persons  of 
her  own  sex  she  is  most  bashful. 

She  is  quite  conscious  of  her  pathological  condition. 

Masculine  features,  deep  voice,  manly  gait,  without 
beard,  small  mammae  ;  crops  her  hair  short,  and  makes 
the  impression  of  a  man  in  woman's  clothes. 

Case  135.  Viraginity.  C.  E.,  maid-servant,  aged 
twenty-six,  suffered  from  the  time  of  her  development 
with  original  paranoia  and  hysteria.  As  a  result  of  her 
delusions,  her  life  had  been  somewhat  romantic,  and  in 
1884,  in  Switzerland,  where  she  had  gone  on  account  of 
delusions  of  persecution,  she  came  under  the  observation 
of  the  authorities.  On  this  occasion  it  was  ascertained 
that  E.  was  affected  with  sexual  inversion. 

Concerning   her   parents   and   relatives,    there   is   no 


SEXUAL    INVEESION    IN    WOMAN.  411 

information  at  hand.  E,.  asserted  that,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs  at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
she  had  never  been  severely  ill. 

First  menstruation  at  fifteen,  without  any  difficulties ; 
thereafter  it  was  very  often  irregular  and  abnormally 
excessive.  The  patient  declared  that  she  never  had  had 
inclinations  toward  the  opposite  sex,  and  had  never  allowed 
the  approach  of  a  man.  She  never  could  understand  how 
her  friends  could  describe  the  beauty  and  amiability  of 
men.  But  it  was  charming  and  inspiring  for  her  to 
imprint  a  kiss  on  the  lips  of  a  beloved  female  friend- 
She  had  a  love  for  girls  that  was  incomprehensible  to  her. 
She  had  passionately  loved  and  kissed  some  of  her  female 
friends,  and  she  would  have  given  up  her  life  for  them. 
Her  greatest  delight  would  have  been  to  have  constantly 
lived  with  such  a  friend  and  absolutely  possessed  her. 

In  this  she  felt  toward  the  beloved  girl  like  a  man. 
Even  as  a  little  child  she  had  an  inclination  only  for  the 
play  of  boys,  and  she  loved  to  hear  shooting  and  military 
music,  was  always  much  excited  by  them,  and  would 
gladly  have  gone  as  a  soldier.  The  chase  and  war  have 
been  her  ideals.  In  the  theatre  only  feminine  performers 
interested  her.  She  knew  very  well  that  the  whole  of  this 
inclination  was  unwomanly,  but  she  could  not  help  it.  It 
had  always  been  a  great  pleasure  for  her  to  go  about  in 
male  clothing,  and  in  the  same  way  she  had  always  pre- 
ferred masculine  work,  and  had  shown  unusual  skill  in  it ; 
while  with  reference  to  feminine  occupations,  especially 
handiwork,  she  had  to  say  the  contrary.  The  patient  had 
also  a  weakness  for  smoking  and  spirits.  On  account  of 
persecutory  delusions,  in  order  to  rid  herself  of  her  per- 
secutions, the  patient  had  often  gone  about  in  male  attire 
and  played  the  part  of  a  man.  She  did  this  with  such 
(natural)  skill  that,  as  a  rule,  she  was  able  to  deceive 
people  concerning  her  sex. 

It  is  authoritatively  established  that  in  1884  for  a 
long  time  the  patient  went  about  in   male  attire,  now 


412  PSYCHOrATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

in  the  garments  of  a  civilian,  now  in  the  uniform  of  a 
heutenant ;  and  in  August  of  the  same  year,  dressed 
as  a  male  servant,  sh3  fled  to  Switzerland  through  delu- 
sions of  persecution.  There  she  found  service  in  a  mer- 
chant's family  and  fell  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  the 
house,  "the  beautiful  Anna,"  who,  on  her  side,  not 
recognising  the  sex  of  E.,  fell  in  love  with  the  handsome 
young  man. 

Concerning  this  episode  the  patient  makes  the  follow- 
ing characteristic  statement :  "  I  was  madly  in  love  with 
Anna.  I  don't  know  how  it  came  about,  and  I  cannot 
put  myself  right  concerning  this  impulse.  In  this  fatal 
love  lies  the  reason  why  I  played  the  role  of  a  man  so 
long.  I  have  never  yet  felt  any  love  for  a  man,  and  I 
believe  that  my  love  is  for  the  female  and  not  the  male 
sex.     I  can  in  nowise  understand  my  condition." 

From  Switzerland  R.  wrote  letters  home  to  her  friend 
Amelia,  which  were  produced  at  the  examination.  They 
are  letters  showing  passionate  love,  which  goes  beyond 
the  bounds  of  friendship.  She  apostrophises  her  friend  : 
"  My  flower,  sun  of  my  heart,  longing  of  my  soul  ".  She 
was  her  greatest  happiness  on  earth  ;  her  heart  was  hers. 
And  in  her  letters  to  her  friend's  parents  she  wrote : 
"  You,  too,  should  watch  my  'flower,'  for  if  she  should  die 
I  also  would  be  unable  to  endure  life  ". 

For  the  purpose  of  investigating  her  mental  condition, 
E.  remained  for  some  time  in  an  asylum.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  Anna  was  allowed  to  pay  E.  a  visit,  there 
was  no  end  of  passionate  embraces  and  kisses.  The 
visitor  acknowledged  freely  that  they  had  before  secretly 
embraced  and  kissed  in  the  same  way. 

E.  is  a  tali,  slim,  stately  person,  of  feminine  form 
in  all  respects,  but  with  masculine  features.  Cranium 
regular ;  no  anatomical  signs  of  degeneration.  Genitals 
normal  and  indicative  of  virginity.  E.  makes  the  impres- 
sion of  a  morally  pure  and  modest  person.  All  the 
circumstances   indicate   that    she   has    only   indulged    in 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  413 

platonic  love.  Eye  and  appearance  are  indicative  of  a 
neuropathic  person.  Severe  hysteria,  occasional  catalep- 
toid  attacks,  with  visionary  and  dehrious  states.  The 
patient  is  very  easily  brought  into  a  state  of  somnam- 
buhsm  by  hypnotic  influence,  and  in  this  condition  is 
susceptible  to  all  possible  suggestions.  (Personal  case. 
''Friedreich's  Blatter,"  1881,  Heft  i.) 

Case  136.  Viraginity.  Miss  0.,  twenty-three  years 
of  age.  Mother  constitutionally  and  heavily  hystero- 
pathic.  Mother's  father  insane.  Father's  family  un- 
tainted. 

Father  died  early  of  pneumonia.  Patient  was  brought 
to  me  by  her  trustee  because  she  ran  away  recently  from 
home  in  male  attire  in  order  to  rove  through  the  world 
and  become  an  "  artiste  ".     Very  gifted  in  music. 

For  several  years  past  she  has  attracted  much  atten- 
tion by  her  bold,  mannish  behaviour,  and  by  wearing  her 
hair  and  attire  in  male  fashion.  Since  she  was  thirteen 
she  was  demonstrative  in  her  love  for  girl  friends,  whom 
she  often  wearied  with  fervent  embraces. 

She  does  not  seek  to  conceal  her  passionate  fondness 
for  persons  of  her  own  sex.  Claims  that  since  her 
thirteenth  year  she  is  fully  conscious  of  the  fact  that 
she  can  love  only  women.  She  feels  as  a  man  towards 
woman  ;  thinks  she  looks  like  a  man,  and  would  much 
rather  wear  men's  clothes. 

A  short  time  ago  she  seriously  asked  a  relative  who 
is  in  the  police  department  to  obtain  permission  for  her 
to  go  about  in  male  attire. 

Her  erotic  dreams  deal  only  with  intimate  intercourse 
with  female  friends.  She  never  took  the  slightest  interest 
in  men,  and  never  thought  of  marriage. 

She  feels  quite  happy  in  her  abnormal  sexual  condi- 
tion, and  does  not  recognise  it  as  pathological.  She 
cannot  comprehend  tliat  her  sexual  instinct  differs  from 
that  of  other  women. 


414  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

The  circumference  of  the  head  is  51  cm.  Frame  quite 
feminine ;  but  the  feet  are  exceptionally  large  and  more 
of  masculine  type.  Carriage,  attitude  and  gait  quite 
masculine.  Female  voice.  Monthly  periods  regular  since 
her  thirteenth  year. 

Case  137.  Miss  X.,  aged  thirty-eight,  consulted  me 
late  in  the  fall  of  1881,  on  account  of  severe  spinal  irrita- 
tion and  obstinate  sleeplessness,  in  combating  which  she 
had  become  addicted  to  morphine  and  chloral.  Her 
mother  and  sister  were  nervous  sufferers,  but  the  rest  of 
the  family  were  healthy.  The  trouble  dated  from  a  fall 
on  her  back  in  1872,  at  which  time  the  patient  was 
terribly  frightened,  though,  when  a  girl,  she  had  been 
subject  to  muscular  cramps  and  hysterical  symptoms. 
Following  this  shock,  a  neurasthenic  and  hysterical 
neurosis  developed,  with  predominating  spinal  irritation 
and  sleeplessness.  Episodically,  hysterical  paraplegia, 
lasting  as  long  as  eight  months,  and  hysterical  hallu- 
cinatory delirium,  with  convulsive  attacks,  occurred.  In 
the  course  of  this,  symptoms  of  morphinism  were  added. 
A  stay  of  some  months  in  the  hospital  relieved  the  latter, 
and  considerably  improved  the  neurasthenic  neurosis,  in 
the  treatment  of  which  general  faradisation  exerted  a 
remarkably  favourable  influence. 

Even  at  the  first  meeting,  the  patient  produced  a 
remarkable  impression  by  reason  of  her  attire,  features, 
and  conduct.  She  wore  a  gentleman's  hat,  her  hair 
closely  cut,  eye-glasses,  a  gentleman's  cravat,  a  coat-like 
outer  garment  of  masculine  cut  that  reached  well  down 
over  her  gown,  and  boots  with  high  heels.  She  had 
coarse,  somewhat  masculine  features  ;  a  harsh,  deep  voice  ; 
and  made  rather  the  impression  of  a  man  in  female  attire 
than  that  of  a  lady,  if  one  but  overlooked  the  bosom  and 
the  decidedly  feminine  form  of  the  pelvis.  During  the 
long  time  that  she  was  observed,  there  were  never  signs 
of  erotism.     When  questioned  concerning  her  attire,  she 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN   WOMAN.  415 

would  only  respond  that  the  style  she  chose  suited  her 
better.  Gradually  it  was  ascertained  from  her  that,  even 
when  she  was  a  small  girl,  she  had  had  a  preference  for 
horses  and  masculine  pursuits,  and  never  any  interest 
in  feminine  occupations.  Later  she  developed  a  particular 
pleasure  in  reading,  and  prepared  herself  to  be  a  teacher. 
Dancing  had  never  pleased  her ;  it  had  always  seemed 
silly  to  her.  The  hallet  had  never  interested  her.  Her 
greatest  pleasure  had  always  been  in  the  circus.  Until 
her  sickness,  in  1872,  she  had  neither  had  inclination 
for  persons  of  the  opposite  nor  for  those  of  her  own 
sex.  From  that  time  she  had,  what  was  remarkable  to 
herself,  a  peculiar  friendship  for  females,  particularly  for 
young  ladies  ;  and  she  had  a  desire,  and  satisfied  it,  to 
wear  hats  and  coats  of  masculine  style.  Since  1869,  she 
had  worn  her  hair  short,  and  parted  it  on  the  side,  as 
men  do.  She  asserts  that  she  was  never  sexually  excited 
in  the  company  of  men,  but  that  her  friendship  and 
self-sacrifice  for  sympathetic  ladies  was  unbounded  ;  while 
from  that  time  she  also  experienced  repugnance  for  gen- 
tlemen and  their  society. 

Her  relatives  report  that,  before  1872,  the  patient  had 
a  proposal  of  marriage,  which  she  refused  ;  and  that  when 
she  returned  from  a  sojourn  at  a  watering-place,  in  1874, 
she  was  sexually  changed,  and  occasionally  showed  that 
she  did  not  regard  herself  as  a  female. 

Since  that  time  she  would  associate  only  with  ladies, 
has  had  a  kind  of  love-relation  with  one  or  another,  and 
made  remarks  which  indicated  that  she  looked  upon  her- 
self as  a  man.  This  predilection  for  women  was  decidedly 
more  than  mere  friendship,  since  it  expressed  itself  in 
tears,  jealousy,  etc. 

When,  in  1874,  she  was  stopping  at  a  watering-place, 
a  young  lady,  who  took  her  for  a  man  in  disguise,  fell 
in  love  with  her.  When  this  lady  married,  later,  the 
patient  was  for  a  long  time  depressed,  and  spoke  of  un- 
faithfulness.     Moreover,  since  her  illness,   her   relatives 


416  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

were  struck  by  her  desire  for  masculine  attire,  her 
mascuhne  conduct,  and  disinclination  for  feminine  pur- 
suits ;  while  previously,  at  least  sexually,  she  had  pre- 
sented nothing  unusual. 

Further  investigations  showed  that  the  patient  had 
a  love-relation,  which  was  not  purely  platonic,  with  the 
lady  described  in  case  133  ;  and  that  she  wrote  her 
affectionate  letters  like  those  of  a  lover  to  his'  beloved. 
In  1887  I  again  saw  the  patient  in  a  sanatorium,  where 
she  had  been  placed  on  account  of  hystero-epileptic  attacks, 
spinal  irritation,  and  morphinism.  The  inverted  sexual 
feeling  existed  unchanged,  and  only  by  the  most  careful 
watching  was  the  patient  kept  from  improper  advances 
toward  her  fellow-patients. 

Her  condition  remained  quite  unchanged  until  1889. 
Then  the  patient  began  to  fail,  and  she  died  of  "  ex- 
haustion," in  August,  1889.  The  autopsy  showed,  in 
the  vegetative  organs,  amyloid  degeneration  of  the  kid- 
neys, fibroma  of  the  uterus,  and  cyst  of  the  left  ovary. 
The  frontal  bone  was  much  thickened,  uneven  on  the 
inner  surface,  with  numerous  exostoses  ;  dura  adherent 
to  vault  of  cranium.  Long  diameter  of  skull,  175  milli- 
metres ;  lateral  diameter,  148  millimetres  ;  weight  of  the 
oedematous,  but  not  atrophied,  brain,  1175  grammes. 
The  meninges  delicate,  easily  removed.  Cortex  pale. 
Convolutions  broad,  not  numerous,  regularly  arranged. 
Nothing  abnormal  in  cerebellum  and  great  ganglia. 

Case  138.  Gynandry}  History:  On  4th  November, 
1889,  the  stepfather  of  a  certain  Count  Sandor  V.  com- 
plained that  the  latter  had  swindled  him  out  of  800f., 
under  the  pretence  of  requiring  a  bond  as  secretary  of 
a  stock  company.  It  was  ascertained  that  Sandor  had 
entered  into  matrimonial  contracts  and  escaped  from  the 
nuptials  in  the  spring  of  1889  ;  and,  more  than  this,  that 

^  Cf.  the  expert  medical  opinion  of  this  case,  by  Dr.  Birnbacher,  in 
"Friedreich's  Blatter  f.  ger.  Med.,"  1891,  Heft  1. 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  417 

this  ostensible  Count   Sandor  was  no  man  at  all,  but  a 
woman  in  male  attire — Sarolta  (Charlotte),  Countess  V. 

S.  was  arrested,  and,  on  account  of  deception  and 
forgery  of  public  documents,  brought  to  examination. 
At  the  first  hearing  S.  confessed  that  she  was  born  on  the 
6th  Sept.,  1866 ;  that  she  was  a  female,  Catholic,  single, 
and  worked  as  an  authoress  under  the  name  of  Count 
Sandor  V. 

From  the  autobiography  of  this  man-woman  I  have 
gleaned  the  following  remarkable  facts  that  have  been 
independently  confirmed  : — 

S.  comes  of  an  ancient,  noble  and  highly  respected 
family  of  Hungary,  in  which  there  have  been  eccentricity 
and  family  peculiarities.  A  sister  of  the  maternal  grand- 
mother was  hysterical,  a  somnambulist,  and  lay  seventeen 
years  in  bed,  on  account  of  fancied  paralysis.  A  sec(md 
great-aunt  spent  seven  years  in  bed,  on  account  of  a 
fancied  fatal  illness,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  balls.  A 
third  had  the  whim  that  a  certain  table  in  her  salon 
was  bewitched.  If  anything  were  laid  on  this  table,  'she 
would  become  greatly  excited  and  cry,  "  Bewitched  !  be- 
witched !  "  and  run  with  the  object  into  a  room  which 
she  called  the  "  Black  Chamber,"  and  the  key  of  which 
she  never  let  out  of  her  hands..  After  the  death  of  this 
lady,  there  were  found  in  this  chamber  a  number  of 
shawls,  ornaments,  bank-notes,  etc.  A  fourth  great-aunt 
during  two  years  did  not  leave  her  room,  and  neither 
washed  herself  nor  combed  her  hair ;  then  she  again 
made  her  appearance.  All  these  ladies  were,  nevertheless, 
intellectual,  finely  educated  and  amiable. 

S.'s  mother  was  nervous,  and  could  not  bear  the  light 
of  the  moon. 

She  inherited  many  of  the  peculiarities  of  her  father's 
family.  One  line  of  the  family  gave  itself  up  almost 
entirely  to  spiritualism.  Two  blood  relations  on  the 
father's  side  shot  themselves.  The  majority  of  her  male 
relatives  are  unusually  talented  ;  the  females  are  decidedly 

27 


418  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

narrow-minded  and  domesticated.  S.'s  father  had  a  high 
position,  which,  however,  on  account  of  his  eccentricity 
and  extravagance  (he  wasted  over  a  milhon  and  a  hall), 
he  lost. 

Among  many  foolish  things  that  her  father  encouraged 
in  her  was  the  fact  that  he  brought  her  up  as  a  boy, 
called  her  Sandor,  allowed  her  to  ride,  drive  and  hunt, 
admiring  her  muscular  energy. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  foolish  father  allowed  his 
second  son  to  go  about  in  female  attire,  and  had  him 
brought  up  as  a  girl.  This  farce  ceased  when  the  son 
was  sent  to  a  higher  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 

Sarolta-Sandor  remained  under  her  father's  influence 
till  her  twelfth  year,  and  then  came  under  the  care  of  her 
eccentric  maternal  grandmother  in  Dresden,  by  whom, 
when  the  masculine  play  became  too  obvious,  she  was 
placed  in  an  institute  and  made  to  wear  female  attire. 

At  thirteen  she  had  a  love-relation  with  an  Eaglish 
girl,  to  whom  she  represented  herself  as  a  boy,  and  ran 
aWay  with  her. 

Sarolta  returned  to  her  mother,  who,  however,  could 
do  nothing,  and  was  compelled  to  allow  her  daughter  to 
again  become  Sandor,  wear  male  clothes,  and,  at  least 
once  a  year,  to  fall  in  love  with  persons  of  her  own  sex. 

At  the  same  time  S.  received  a  careful  education  and 
made  long  journeys  with  her  father,  of  course  always  as  a 
young  gentleman.  She  early  became  independent  and 
visited  cafh,  even  those  of  doubtful  character,  and,  indeed, 
boasted  one  day  that  in  a  brothel  she  had  had  a  girl  sitting 
on  each  knee.  S.  was  often  intoxicated,  had  a  passion  for 
masculine  sports  and  was  a  very  skilful  fencer. 

She  felt  herself  drawn  pariicularly  toward  actresses, 
or  others  of  similar  position,  and,  if  possible,  toward  those 
who  were  not  very  young.  She  asserts  that  she  never 
had  any  inclination  for  a  young  man,  and  that  she  has 
felt,  from  year  to  year,  an  increasing  dislike  for  young 
men. 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  419 

"I  preferred  to  go  into  the  society  of  ladies  with  ugly, 
ill-favoured  men,  so  that  none  of  them  could  put  me  in 
the  shade.  If  I  noticed  that  any  of  the  men  awakened 
the  sympathies  of  the  ladies,  I  felt  jealous.  I  preferred 
ladies  who  were  bright  and  pretty ;  I  could  not  endure 
them  if  they  were  fat  or  much  inclined  toward  men.  It 
delighted  me  if  the  passion  of  a  lady  was  disclosed  under 
a  poetic  veil.  All  immodesty  in  a  woman  was  disgusting 
to  me.  I  had  an  indescribable  aversion  for  female  attire, — 
indeed,  for  everything  feminine,— but  only  in  as  far  as  it 
concerned  me ;  for,  on  the  other  hand,  I  was  all  enthu- 
siasm for  the  beautiful  sex." 

During  the  last  ten  years  S.  had  lived  almost  con- 
stantly away  from  her  relatives,  in  the  gui^e  of  a  man. 
She  had  had  many  liaisons  with  ladies,  travelled  much, 
spent  much,  and  made  debts. 

At  the  same  time  she  carried  on  hterary  work,  and  was 
a  valued  collaborator  on  two  noted  journals  of  the  capital. 

Her  passion  for  ladies  was  very  changeable;  con- 
stancy in  love  was  entirely  wanting. 

Only  once  did  such  a  liaison  last  three  years.  It  was 
years  before  that  S.,  at  Castle  G.,  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Emma  E.,  who  was  ten  years  older  than  herself.  She 
fell  in  love  with  her,  made  a  marriage  contract  with  her, 
and  they  lived  together  as  man  and  wife  for  three  years 
at  the  capital. 

A  new  love,  which  proved  fatal  to  S.,  caused  her  to 
sever  her  matrimonial  relations  with  E.  The  latter  would 
not  have  it  so.  Only  with  the  greatest  sacrifice  was  S. 
able  to  purchase  her  freedom  from  E,  who,  it  is  reported, 
still  looks  upon  herself  as  a  divorced  wife,  and  regards 
herself  as  the  Countess  V. !  That  S.  also  had  the  power 
to  excite  passion  in  other  women  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  when  she  (before  her  marriage  with  E.)  had  grown 
tired  of  a  Miss  D.,  after  having  spent  thousands  of  guldens 
on  her,  she  was  threatened  with  shooting  by  D.  if  she 
should  become  untrue. 


420  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1887,  while  at  a  watering- 
place,  that  S.  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  distinguished 
official's  family.  Immediately  she  fell  in  love  with  the 
daughter,  Marie,  and  her  love  was  returned. 

Her  mother  and  cousin  tried  in  vain  to  break  up 
this  affair.  During  the  winter  the  lovers  corresponded 
zealously.  In  April,  1888,  Count  S.  paid  her  a  visit,  and 
in  May,  1889,  attained  her  wish  ;  in  that  Marie— who, 
in  the  meantime,  had  given  up  a  position  as  teacher — 
became  her  bride  in  the  presence  of  a  friend  of  her  lover, 
the  ceremony  being  performed  in  an  arbour,  by  a  pseudo- 
priest,  in  Hungary.  S.,  with  her  friend,  forged  the  mar- 
riage certificate.  The  pair  Hved  happily,  and,  without 
the  interference  of  the  stepfather,  this  false  marriage, 
probably,  would  have  lasted  much  longer.  It  is  remark- 
able that,  during  the  comparatively  long  existence  of  the 
relation,  S.  was  able  to  deceive  completely  the  family  of 
her  bride  with  regard  to  her  true  sex. 

S.  was  a  passionate  smoker,  and  in  all  respects  her 
tastes  and  passions  were  masculine.  Her  letters  and 
even  legal  documents  reached  her  under  the  address  of 
"  Count  S.".  She  often  spoke  of  having  to  drill.  From 
remarks  of  the  father-in-law  it  seems  that  S.  (and  she 
afterward  confessed  it)  knew  how  to  imitate  a  scrotum 
with  handkerchiefs  or  gloves  stuffed  in  the  trousers.  The 
father-in-law  also,  on  one  occasion,  noticed  something 
like  an  erected  member  on  his  future  son-in-law  (probably 
a  priapus).  She  also  occasionally  remarked  that  she  was 
obliged  to  wear  a  suspensory  bandage  while  riding.  The 
fact  is,  S.  wore  a  bandage  around  the  body  possibly  as  a 
means  of  retaining  a  priapus. 

Though  S.  often  had  herself  shaved  pro  forma,  the 
servants  in  the  hotel  where  she  lived  were  convinced 
that  she  was  a  woman,  because  the  chambermaids  found 
traces  of  menstrual  blood  on  her  linen  (which  S.  explained, 
however,  as  hoemorrhoidal)  ;  and,  on  the  occasion  of  a 
bath  which  S.  was  accustomed  to  take,  they  claimed  to 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN    WOMAN.  421 

have  convinced    themselves   of   her  real  sex  by  looking 
through  the  key-hole. 

The  family  of  Marie  make  it  seem  probable  that  she 
for  a  long  time  was  deceived  with  regard  to  the  true 
sex  of  her  false  bridegroom.  The  following  passage  in 
a  letter  from  Marie  to  S.,  26th  August,  1889,  speaks  in 
favour  of  the  incredible  simplicity  and  innocence  of  this 
unfortunate  girl  :  "  I  don't  like  children  any  more,  but 
if  I  had  a  little  Bezerl  or  Patscherl  by  my  Sandi — ah, 
what  happiness,  Sandi  mine  !  " 

A  large  number  of  manuscripts  allow  conclusions 
to  be  drawn  concerning  S.'s  mental  individuality.  The 
chirography  possesses  the  character  of  firmness  and 
certainty.  The  characters  are  genuinely  masculine.  The 
same  peculiarities  repeat  themselves  everywhere  in  their 
contents — wild,  unbridled  passion  ;  hatred  and  resistance 
to  all  that  opposes  the  heart  thirsting  for  love  ;  poetical 
love,  which  is  not  marred  by  one  ignoble  blot  ;  enthusiasm 
for  the  beautiful  and  noble  ;  appreciation  of  science  and 
the  arts. 

Her  writings  betray  a  wonderfully  wide  range  of 
reading  in  classics  of  all  languages,  in  citations  from 
poets  and  prose  writers  of  all  lauds.  The  evidence  of 
those  qualified  to  judge  literary  work  shows  that  S." 
poetical  and  literary  ability  is  by  no  means  small.  The 
letters  and  writings  concerning  the  relation  with  Marie 
are  psychologically  worthy  of  notice, 

S.  speaks  of  the  happiness  there  was  for  her  when 
by  M.'s  side,  and  expresses  boundless  longing  to  see  her 
beloved,  if  only  for  a  moment.  After  such  a  happiness, 
she  could  have  but  one  wish — to  exchange  her  cell  for 
the  grave.  The  bitterest  thing  was  the  knowledge  that 
now  Marie,  too,  hated  her.  Hot  tears,  enough  to  drown 
herself  in,  she  had  shed  over  her  lost  happiness.  Whole 
quires  of  paper  are  given  up  to  the  apotheosis  of  this 
love,  and  reminiscences  of  the  time  of  the  first  love  and 
acquaintance. 


422  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

S.  complained  of  her  heart,  that  would  allow  no  reason 
to  direct  it  ;  she  expressed  emotions  which  were  such 
as  only  could  be  felt — not  simulated.  Then,  again,  there 
were  outbreaks  of  most  silly  passion,  with  the  declara- 
tion that  she  could  not  live  without  Marie.  "  Thy  dear, 
sweet  voice  ;  the  voice  whose  tone  perchance  would  raise 
me  from  the  dead  ;  that  has  been  for  me  like  the  warm 
breath  of  Paradise  !  Thy  presence  alone  were  enough 
to  alleviate  my  mental  and  moral  anguish.  It  was  a 
magnetic  stream  ;  it  was  a  peculiar  power  your  being 
exercised  over  mine,  which  I  cannot  quite  define  ;  and, 
therefore,  I  cling  to  that  ever-true  definition  :  I  love  you 
because  I  love  you.  In  the  night  of  sorrow  I  had  but 
one  star— the  star  of  Marie's  love.  That  star  has  lost 
its  light ;  now  there  remains  but  its  shimmer — the  sweet, 
sad  memory  which  even  lights  with  its  soft  ray  the 
deepening  night  of  death — a  ray  of  hope." 

This  writing  ends  with  the  apostrophe  :  "  Gentlemen, 
you  learned  in  the  law,  psychologists  and  pathologists, 
do  me  justice  !  Love  led  me  to  take  the  step  I  took  ;  all 
my  deeds  were  conditioned  by  it.  God  put  it  in  my 
heart. 

"  If  He  created  me  so,  and  not  otherwise,  am  I  then 
guilty ;  or  is  it  the  eternal,  incomprehensible  way  of 
fate  ?  I  relied  on  God,  that  one  day  my  emancipation 
would  come  ;  for  my  thought  was  only  love  itself,  which 
is  the  foundation,  the  guiding  principle,  of  His  teaching 
and  His  kingdom. 

"  0  God,  Thou  All-pitying, '  Almighty  One  !  Thou 
seest  my  distress  ;  Thou  knowest  how  I  suffer.  Incline 
Thyself  to  me  ;  extend  Thy  helping  hand  to  me,  deserted 
by  all  the  world.  Only  God  is  just.  How  beautifully 
does  Victor  Hugo  describe  this  in  his  '  Legjndes  du 
Siecle'!  How  sad  do  Mendelssohn's  words  sound  to 
me  :  '  Nightly  in  dreams  I  see  thee  '  !  " 

Though  S.  knew  that  none  of  her  writings  reached 
her  lover,   she  did  not  grow  tired  writing   of  her  pain 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN   WOMAN.  423 

and  delight  in  love,  in  page  after  page  of  deification  of 
Marie.  And  to  induce  one  more  pure  flood  of  tears,  on 
one  still,  clear  summer  evening,  when  the  lake  was 
aglow  with  the  setting  sun  like  molten  gold,  and  the  bells 
of  St.  Anna  and  Maria- Worth,  blending  in  harmonious 
melancholy,  gave  tidings  of  rest  and  peace,  she  wrote  : 
"For  that  poor  soul,  for  this  poor  heart  that  beat  for 
thee  till  the  last  breath  ". 

Personal  examination :  The  first  meeting  which  the 
experts  had  with  S.  was  in  a  measure,  a  time  of  embarrass- 
ment to  both  sides  ;  for  them,  because  perhaps  S.'s  some- 
what dazzling  and  forced  masculine  carriage  impressed 
them  ;  for  her,  because  she  thought  she  was  to  be  marked 
with  the  stigma  of  moral  insanity.  She  had  a  pleasant 
and  intelligent  face,  which,  in  spite  of  a  certain  delicacy 
of  features  and  diminutiveness  of  all  its  parts,  gave  a 
decidedly  masculine  impression,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
absence  of  a  moustache.  It  was  even  difficult  for  the 
experts  to  realise  that  they  were  concerned  with  a  woman, 
despite  the  fact  of  female  attire  and  constant  association  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  intercourse  with  the  man 
Sandor  was  much  more  free,  natural,  and  apparently 
correct-  The  culprit  also  felt  this.  She  immediately  be- 
came more  open,  more  communicative,  more  free,  as  soon 
as  she  was  treated  like  a  man. 

In  spite  of  her  inclination  for  the  female  sex,  which 
had  been  present  from  her  earliest  years,  she  asserts  that 
in  her  thirteenth  year  she  first  felt  a  trace  of  sexual  feeling, 
which  expressed  itself  in  kisses,  embraces,  and  caresses, 
with  sexual  pleasure,  and  this  on  the  occasion  of  her 
elopement  with  the  red-haired  English  girl  from  the  Dres- 
den institute.  At  that  time  feminine  forms  exclusively 
appeared  to  her  in  dream-pictures,  and  ever  since,  in 
sensual  dreams,  she  has  felt  herself  in  the  situation  of 
a  man,  and  occasionally,  also,  at  such  times,  experienced 
ejaculation. 

She   knows  nothing  of  solitary  or  mutual   onanism 


424  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Such  a  thing  seemed  very  disgusting  to  her,  and  not 
conducive  to  manliness.  She  had,  also,  never  allowed 
herself  to  be  touched  ad  genitalia  by  others,  because  it 
would  have  revealed  her  great  secret.  The  menses  began 
at  seventeen,  but  were  always  scanty  and  without  pain. 
It  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  S.  had  a  horror  of  speaking 
of  menstruation;  that  it  was  a  thing  repugnant  to -her 
masculine  consciousness  and  feeling.  She  recognised  the 
abnormahty  of  her  sexual  inclinations,  but  had  no  desire 
to  have  them  changed,  since  in  this  perverse  feeling  she 
felt  both  well  and  happy.  The  idea  of  sexual  intercourse 
with  men  disgusted  her,  and  she  also  thought  it  would  be 
impossible. 

Her  modesty  was  so  great  that  she  would  prefer  to 
sleep  among  men  rather  than  among  women.  Thus, 
when  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  answer  the  calls  of 
nature  or  to  change  her  linen,  it  was  necessary  for  her  to 
ask  her  companion  in  the  cell  to  turn  her  face  to  the 
window,  that  she  might  not  see  her. 

When  occasionally  S.  came  in  contact  with  this  com- 
panion,— a  woman  from  the  lower  walks  of  hfe, — she 
experienced  a  sexual  excitement  that  made  her  blush. 
Indeed,  without  being  asked,  S.  related  that  she  was 
overcome  with  actual  fear  when,  in  her  cell,  she  was 
compelled  to  force  herself  into  the  unusual  female  attire. 
Her  only  comfort  was  that  she  was  at  least  allowed  to 
keep  a  shirt.  Remarkable,  and  what  also  speaks  for  the 
significance  of  olfactory  sensations  in  her  vita  sexualis,  is 
her  statement  that,  on  the  occasions  of  Marie's  absence, 
she  had  sought  those  places  on  which  Marie's  head  was 
accustomed  to  repose,  and  smelled  them,  in  order  to 
experience  the  delight  of  inhaling  the  odour  of  her  hair. 
Among  women,  those  who  are  beautiful,  or  voluptuous, 
or  quite  young,  do  not  particularly  interest  her.  The 
physical  charms  of  w^omen  she  makes  subordinate.  As 
by  magnetic  attraction,  she  feels  herself  drawn  to  those 
between  twenty-four  and  thirty.     She  found  her  sexual 


SEXUAL    INVEESION    IN    WOMAN.  425 

satisfaction  exclusively  in  corpora  femmce  (never  in  her  own 
person),  in  the  form  of  manustupration  of  the  beloved 
woman,  or  cunnilingus.  Occasionally  she  availed  herself 
of  a  stocking  stuffed  with  oakum  as  a  priapus.  These 
admissions  were  made  only  unwillingly  by  S.,  and  with 
apparent  shame ;  just  as  in  her  writings  immodesty  or 
cynicism  are  never  found. 

She  is  religious,  has  a  lively  interest  in  all  that  is  noble 
and  beautiful, — men  excepted, — and  is  very  sensitive  to 
the  opinion  others  may  entertain  of  her  morality. 

She  deeply  regrets  that  in  her  passion  she  made  Marie 
unhappy,  and  regards  her  sexual  feelings  as  perverse,  and 
such  a  love  of  one  woman  for  another,  among  normal 
individuals,  as  morally  reprehensible.  She  has  great 
literary  talent  and  an  extraordinary  memory.  Her  only 
weakness  is  her  great  frivolity  and  her  incapability  to 
manage  money  and  property  reasonably.  But  she  is 
conscious  of  this  weakness,  and  does  not  care  to  talk 
about  it. 

She  is  153  centimetres  tall,  of  delicate  build,  thin, 
but  remarkably  muscular  on  the  breast  and  thighs.  Her 
gait  in  female  attire  is  awkward.  Her  movements  are 
powerful,  not  unpleasing,  though  they  are  somewhat 
masculine  and  lacking  in  grace.  She  greets  one  with 
a  firm  pressure  of  the  hand.  Her  whole  carriage  is 
decided,  firm  and  somewhat  self-conscious.  Her  glance 
is  intelligent ;  mien  somewhat  diffident.  Feet  and  hands 
remarkal)ly  small,  having  remained  in  an  infantile  stage 
of  development.  Extensor  surfaces  of  the  extremities 
remarkably  well  covered  with  hair,  while  there  is  not  the 
slightest  trace  of  beard,  in  spite  of  all  shaving  experi- 
ments. The  hips  do  not  correspond  in  any  way  with 
those  of  a  female.  Waist  is  wanting.  The  pelvis  is  so 
slim  and  so  little  prominent,  that  a  line  drawn  from  the 
axilla  to  the  corresponding  knee  is  straight — not  curved 
inward  by  a  waist  or  outward  by  the  pelvis.  The  skull  is 
slightly  oxycephalic,   and   in  all  its  measurements   falls 


426  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

below  the  average  of  the  female  skull  by  at  least  one 
centimetre. 

The  circumference  of  the  head  is  52  centimetres ;  the 
occipital  half-circumference,  24  centimetres ;  the  line  from 
ear  to  ear,  over  the  vertex,  23  centimetres ;  the  anterior 
half-circumference,  28*5  centimetres ;  the  line  from  glabella 
to  occiput,  30  centimetres ;  the  ear-chin  line,  26*5  centi- 
metres ;  long  diameter,  17  centimetres ;  greatest  lateral 
diameter,  13  centimetres  ;  diameter  at  auditory  meati,  12 
centimetres;  zygomatic  diameter,  11'2  centimetres.  The 
upper  jaw  projects  strikingly,  its  alveolar  process  pro- 
jecting beyond  the  under  jaw  about  0"5  centimetre.  The 
position  of  the  teeth  is  not  fully  normal ;  the  right  upper 
canine  has  not  developed.  Mouth  remarkably  small ; 
ears  prominent ;  lobes  not  differentiated,  passing  over 
into  the  skin  of  the  cheek.  Hard  palate,  narrow  and 
high ;  voice  rough  and  deep ;  mammae  fairly  developed, 
soft  and  without  secretion,  Mons  veneris  covered  with 
thick,  dark  hair.  Genitals  completely  feminine,  without 
trace  of  hermaphroditic  appearance,  but  at  the  stage  of 
development  of  those  of  a  ten-year-old  girl.  The  labia 
majora  touch  each  other  almost  completely  ;  labia  minora 
have  a  cock's-comb-like  form,  and  project  under  the  labia 
majora.  The  clitoris  is  small  and  very  sensitive.  Frenu- 
lum delicate ;  perineum  very  narrow ;  introitus  vaginaB 
narrow ;  mucous  membrane  normal.  Hymen  wanting 
(probably  congenitally) ;  likewise  the  carunculee  myrti- 
formes.  Vagina  so  narrow  that  the  insertion  of  a  mem- 
brum  virile  would  be  impossible,  and  it  is  also  very 
sensitive ;  certainly  coitus  had  not  taken  place.  Uterus 
is  felt,  through  the  rectuin,  to  be  about  the  size  of  a 
walnut,  immovable  and  retroflected. 

The  pelvis  appears  generally  narrowed  (dwarf-pelvis), 
and  of  decidedly  masculine  type.  The  distance  between 
anterior  superior  spines  is  22'5  centimetres  (instead  of 
26*3  centimetres).  Distance  between  the  crests  of  the 
ilii,  26"5   centimetres  (instead  of  293  centimetres) ;  be- 


SEXUAL   INVERSION    IN   WOMAN.  427 

tween  the  trochanters,  27-7  centimetres  (31)  ;  the  external 
conjugate  diameter,  17-2  centimetres  (19  to  20)  ;  therefore, 
presmnably,  the  internal  conjugate  would  be  7'7  centi- 
metres (10-8).  On  account  of  narrowness  of  the  pelvis, 
the  direction  of  the  thighs  is  not  convergent,  as  in  a 
woman,  but  straight. 

The  opinion  given  showed  that  in  S.  there  was  a 
congenitally  abnormal  inversion  of  the  sexual  instinct, 
which,  indeed,  expressed  itself,  anthropologically,  in  ano- 
mahes  of  development  of  the  body,  depending  upon  great 
hereditary  taint ;  further,  that  the  criminal  acts  of  S. 
had  their  foundation  in  her  abnormal  and  irresistible 
sexuality. 

S.'s  characteristic  expressions — "  God  put  love  in  my 
heart.  If  He  created  me  so,  and  not  otherwise,  am  I, 
then,  guilty  ;  or  is  it  the  eternal,  incomprehensible  way 
of  fate  ?  " — are  really  justified. 

The  court  granted  pardon.  The  "  countess  in  male 
attire,"  as  she  was  called  in  the  newspapers,  returned 
to  her  home,  and  again  gave  herself  out  as  Count  Sandor. 
Her  only  distress  is  her  lost  happiness  with  her  beloved 
Marie. 

A  married  woman,  in  Brandon,  Wisconsin,  whose 
case  is  reported  by  Dr.  Kiernan  ("  The  Medical  Standard," 
1888,  November  and  December),  was  more  fortunate. 
She  eloped,  in  1883,  with  a  young  girl,  married  her,  and 
lived  with  her  as  husband  undisturbed. 

An  interesting  "  historical  "  example  of  androgyny  is 
a  case  reported  by  Spitzka  ("  Chicago  Medical  Keview," 
20th  August,  1881).  It  was  that  of  Lord  Cornbury, 
Governor  of  New  York,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne.  He  was  apparently  affected  with  moral  insanity  ; 
was  terribly' licentious,  and,  in  spite  of  his  high  position, 
could  not  keep  himself  from  going  about  in  the  streets 
in  female  attire,  coquetting  with  all  the  allurements  of  a 
prostitute. 


428  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

In  a  picture  of  him  that  has  been  preserved,  his  narrow 
brow,  asymmetrical  face,  feminine  features,  and  sensual 
mouth  at  once  attract  attention.  It  is  certain  that  he 
never  actually  regarded  himself  as  a  woman. 

Moreover,  in  individuals  afflicted  with  sexual  inversion, 
in  themselves,  the  perverse  sexual  fueling  and  inclination 
may  be  complicated  with  other  perverse  manifestations. 
Thus  here,  with  reference  to  the  activity  of  the  instinct, 
there  may  be  acts  quite  analogous  to  acts  indulged  in  by 
individuals  in  perverse  satisfaction  of  the  instinct,  but 
who,  at  the  same  time,  have  a  natural  inclination  toward 
persons  of  the  opposite  sex. 

Owing  to  the  circumstance  that  abnormally  increased 
sexuality  is  almost  a  regular  accompaniment  of  anti- 
pathic sexual  feeling,  acts  of  lustful  sadistic  cruelty  in 
the  satisfaction  of  libido  are  easily  possible.  A  remarkable 
example  of  this  is  the  case  of  Zastrow  (CasjJer-Liman,  7. 
Auflage,  Bd.  i.,  p.  160  ;  ii.,  p.  487),  who  bit  one  of  his 
victims  (a  boy),  tore  his  prepuce,  slit  the  anus,  and 
strangled  the  child. 

Z.  came  of  a  psychopathic  grandfather  and  melan- 
cholic mother.  His  brother  indulged  in  abnormal  sexual 
pleasures,  and  committed  suicide. 

Z.  was  a  congenital  urning,  and  in  hahitus  and  occupa- 
tion masculine.  There  was  phimosis.  Mentally,  he  was 
a  weak,  perverse,  socially  useless  man.  He  had  horror 
femince,  and,  in  his  dreams,  he  felt  himself  like  a  woman 
toward  a  man.  He  was  painfully  conscious  of  his  want 
of  normal  sexual  feeling  and  of  his  perverse  instinct,  and 
sought  satisfaction  in  mutual  onanism,  with  frequent 
desire  for  pederasty. 

Similar  sadistic  feelings  of  this  kind,  in  those  afflicted 
with  antipathic  sexual  instinct,  are  found  in  some  of 
the  foregoing  histories  (c/.  cases  107  and  108  of  this 
edition,    and   case   96   of   the   sixth    edition ;   also   Moll, 


SEXUAL    INVERSION    IN   WOMAN.  429 

"  Contr.  Sexualempfindung,"  second  edition,  p.  189;  v. 
Krafft,  "  Jahrb.  f.  Psychiatrie,"  xii.,  pp.  357  and  389  ;  Moll, 
"  Untersuchungen  iiber  Libido  sexualis,"  cases  26  and  27). 

As  examples  of  perverse  sexual  satisfaction  dependent 
on  antipathic  sexual  instinct,  may  be  mentioned  the  Greek, 
who,  as  Athendus  reports,  was  in  love  with  a  statue  of 
Cupid,  and  defiled  it,  in  the  temple  of  Delphi ;  and  besides 
the  monstrous  cases  reported  by  Tardieu  {"  Attentats,"  p. 
272),  the  terrible  one  reported  by  Lornbroso  ("  L'uomo 
delinquente,"  p.  200),  of  a  certain  Artusio,  who  wounded 
a  boy  in  the  abdomen,  and  abused  him  sexually  by  means 
of  the  incisions. 

Cases  92,  110  and  115  (eighth  edition)  show  that 
fetichism  may  also  occur  with  antipathic  sexual  instinct ; 
moreover  a  case  of  shoe-fetichism  related  by  me  in  "  Jahr- 
biicher  f.  Psychiatrie,"  xii.,  1  ;  Moll,  op.  cit.,  second  edition, 
p.  179  ;  Gamier,  "  Les  Fetichistes,"  p.  98. 

The  following  case,  taken  from  Gamier,  is  a  classical 
example  of  boot-fetichism.  At  times  masochism  forms  a 
complication  of  sexual  inversion  Of.  Moll,  second  edition, 
p.  172  (case  12)  and  p.  190;  Hem,  "  Internat.  Centralbl. 
f.  d.  Physiol,  and  Pathol,  der  Harn-  und  Sexualorgane," 
iv.,  Heft  5  (homosexuality  in  a  woman  with  passive  flagel- 
lantism  and  koprophagia)  ;  v.  Krafft,  case  43  in  sixth 
edition  of  this  book,  also  case  115  of  this  edition  and 
114  of  eighth  edition  ;  ditto  "  Jahrbiicher  fiir  Psychiatrie," 
xii.,  p.  339  (homosexuality,  abortive  masochism),  p.  351 
(psych,  hermaphrod.  masochism). 

Case  139.  Homosexuality.  X.,  twenty-six  years  of 
age,  of  the  upper  classes,  was  arrested  for  having  prac- 
tised masturbation  in  a  public  park.  By  heredity  heavily 
tainted;  skull  abnormal ;  was  peculiar  from  earliest  youth  ; 
psychically  abnormal ;  at  the  age  of  ten  he  began  to  show 
a  peculiar  interest  in  patent  leather  shoes ;  began  to 
masturbate  at  thirteen,  but  in  order  to  procure  ejaculation 
he  must  fasten  his  eyes  upon  patent  leather  shoes.     He 


430  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

never  felt  any  inclination  towards  woman,  and  when,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  once  attempted  coitus  at  a 
brothel  derived  no  satisfaction  from  the  act.  With  the 
twenty-fourth  year  his  homosexual  instinct  began  to 
assert  itself  more  and  more.  But  he  felt  himself  drawn 
only  to  young  men  who  wore  elegant  clothes  and  patent 
leather  boots.  Thinking  of  such  men,  he  masturbated. 
His  ideal  was  to  live  with  such  a  man  and  practise  mutual 
masturbation.  Unable  to  realise  his  wishes,  he  would 
introduce  a  ball  into  his  anus,  and  moving  it  in  and  out 
fancy  himself  to  have  coitus  with  his  ideal  young  man 
wearing  patent  leather  boots.  Simultaneously  he  would 
masturbate.  During  this  imitation  of  passive  pederasty 
he  would  wear  drawers  made  of  red  silk.  For  some  time 
he  was  wont  to  stick  notices  on  public  buildings  to  this 
effect :  "  My  nates  are  at  the  disposal  of  handsome  gentle- 
men who  wear  patent  leather  boots ".  Whilst  writing 
such  notices  and  looking  at  his  own  patent  leather  shoes, 
he  would  have  an  erection.  Since  his  sixteenth  year, 
when  young  men  began  to  interest  him,  he  had  eyes  only 
for  their  patent  leather  boots.  He  loved  to  loiter  about 
the  show-windows  of  boot  shops  and  the  drilling-grounds 
of  the  military  school,  where  he  had  opportunity  for 
admiring  the  officers  in  their  patent  leather  boots.  One 
day  he  bought  a  pair  for  himself  and  became  quite  in- 
toxicated by  gazing  at  them.  The  very  smell  of  them 
was  sufficient  to  excite  him  very  much  sexually.  He 
finally  put  them  on,  that  in  them  he  might  make  con- 
quests ;  but  he  was  not  successful.  Now  he  used  them 
for  another  purpose.  He  would  masturhando  ejaculate 
into  them.  The  most  intense  lustful  pleasure  he  derived 
when  he  put,  during  this  act,  one  of  the  shoes  to  his  anus 
or  inter  femora,  rubbing  it  about  there.  When  one  day 
X.  found  a  defect  on  the  uppers  of  one  of  these  shoes, 
which  he  always  saved  most  carefully,  he  was  very  de- 
jected. He  looked  upon  hnnself  as  a  person  who  has 
just  discovered  the  first  wrinkle  in  the  face  of  the  beloved. 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  431 

One  day  when  in  the  park  he  thought  that  a  young  man 
made  advances  to  him  according  to  his  own  desire ;  he 
was  highly  elated,  and  could  not  resist  to  expose  his 
person.  He  was  arrested,  but  not  sentenced.  He  was 
sent  to  an  insane  asylum  {Gar7iier,  "  Les  Fetichistes," 
p.  114). 


DIAGNOSIS,  PROGNOSIS,  AND  THERAPY  OF  ANTIPATHIC 

SEXUAL  INSTINCT. 

While  up  to  this  time  antipathic  sexual  instinct  has 
had  but  an  anthropological,  clinical,  and  forensic  interest 
for  science,  now,  as  a  result  of  the  latest  investigations, 
there  is  some  thought  of  therapy  in  this  incurable  con- 
dition, which  so  heavily  burdens  its  victims,  socially, 
morally,  and  mentally. 

A  preparatory  step  for  the  application  of  therapeutic 
measures  is  the  exact  differentiation  of  the  acquired  from 
the  congenital  cases  ;  and  among  the  latter,  again,  the 
assignment  of  the  concrete  case  to  its  proper  position  in 
the  categories  that  have  been  scientifically   established. 

The  diagnostic  differentiation  of  the  acquired  from  the 
congenital  condition  is  made  without  difficulty  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  anomaly. 

If  sexual  inversion  has  already  taken  place,  then  the 
history  of  the  development  of  the  case  will  throw  light 
upon  it. 

The  important  decision,  prognostically,  as  to  whether 
the  inverted  sexual  instinct  is  congenital  or  acquired,  can 
only  be  made  in  such  cases  by  means  of  the  most  miimte 
details  of  the  history. 

The  establishment  of  the  fact  that  antipathic  sexual 
instinct  existed  before  indulgence  in  masturbation  is  of 
great  importance  with  reference  to  deciding  whether  the 
anomaly  is  congenital  or  not.  In  this,  however,  a  diffi- 
culty arises,  owing  to  the  possibility  of  imperfect  locali- 
sation of  past  events  (illusions  of  memory). 


432  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

For  the  presumption  of  acquired  antipathic  sexual 
instinct,  it  is  important  to  prove  the  existence  of 
heterosexual  instinct  before  the  beginning  of  solitary  or 
mutual  onanism. 

In  genera],  the  acquired  cases  are  characterised  in 
hat:— 

1,  The  homosexual  instinct  appears  as  a  secondary 
factor,  and  always  may  be  referred  to  influences  (mas- 
turbatic  neurasthenia,  mental)  which  disturbed  normal 
sexual  satisfaction.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  here, 
in  spite  of  powerful  sensual  libido,  the  feeling  and  in- 
clination for  the  opposite  sex  are  weak  ab  orirjine,  especially 
in  a  spiritual  and  assthetic  sense. 

2,  The  homosexual  instinct,  as  long  as  inversio  scxualis 
has  not  yet  taken  place,  is  looked  upon,  by  the  indi vidua 
affected,  as  vicious  and  abnormal,  and  yielded  to  only 
faute  de  mieux. 

3,  The  heterosexual  instinct  long  remains  predomi- 
nant, and  the  impossibility  to  satisfy  it  gives  pain.  It 
weakens  in  proportion  as  the  homosexual  feeling  gains  in 
strength. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  congenital  cases  : — 

(a)  The  homosexual  instinct  is  the  one  that  occurs 
primarily,  and  becomes  dominant  in  the  vita  scxualis.  It 
appears  as  the  natural  manner  of  satisfaction,  and  also 
dominates  the  dream-life  of  the  individual. 

(6)  The  heterosexual  instinct  fails  completely,  or,  if 
it  should  make  its  appearance  in  the  history  of  the 
individual  (psycho-sexual  hermaphrodism),  it  is  still  but 
an  episodical  phenomenon  which  has  no  root  in  the 
mental  constitution,  and  is  essentially  but  a  means  to 
satisfaction  of  sexual  desire. 

The  differentiation  of  the  above  groups  of  congenital 
inverted  sexuality  from  one  another,  and  from  the  cases 
in  which  the  anomaly  is  acquired,  will,  after  the  foregoing, 
present  no  difficulties. 

The  proijnosis  of  the  cases  of  acquired  antipathic  sexual 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  433 

instinct  is,  at  all  events,  much  more  favourable  than  that 
of  the  congenital  cases.  In  the  former,  the  occurrence 
of  effemination — the  mental  inversion  of  the  individual,  in 
the  sense  of  perverse  sexual  feeling — is  the  limit  beyond 
which  there  is  no  longer  hope  of  benefit  from  therapy. 
In  the  congenital  cases,  the  various  categories  established 
in  this  book  form  as  many  stages  of  psycho-sexual  taint, 
and  benefit  is  probable  only  within  the  category  of  the 
psychical  hermaphrodites,  though  possible  {vide  the  case 
of  Schrenk-Notzing)  in  that  of  the  urnings. 

The  prophylaxis  of  these  conditions  becomes  thus  the 
more  important — for  the  congenital  cases,  prohibition  of 
the  reproduction  of  such  unfortunates  ;  for  the  acquired 
cases,  protection  from  the  injurious  influences  which 
experience  teaches  may  lead  to  the  fatal  inversion  of  the 
sexual  instinct. 

Numerous  predisposed  individuals  meet  this  sad  fate, 
because  parents  and  teachers  have  no  suspicion  of 
the  danger  which  masturbation  brings  in  its  train  to 
children. 

In  many  schools  and  academies  masturbation  and  vice 
are  actually  cultivated.  At  present  much  too  little  atten- 
tion is  given  to  the  mental  and  moral  peculiarities  of  the 
pupils. 

If  only  the  tasks  are  done,  nothing  more  is  asked. 
That  many  pupils  are  thus  ruined  in  body  and  soul  is 
never  considered. 

In  obedience  to  affected  prudery,  the  vita  sexiialis  is 
made  a  mystery  to  the  developing  youth,  and  not  the 
sHghtest  attention  given  to  the  excitations  of  his  sexual 
instinct.  How  few  family  physicians  are  ever  called  in, 
during  the  years  of  development  of  children,  to  give 
advice  to  their  patients  that  are  often  so  greatly  pre- 
disposed ! 

It  is  thought  that  all  must  be  left  to  Nature ;  in  the 
meantime,  Nature  rises  in  her  power,  and  leads  the  help- 
less, unprotected  innocent  into  dangerous  by-paths. 

28 


434  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

A  more  detailed  treatment  of  this  prophylactic  side  of 
the  subject  is  impossible  here.-^ 

To  parents  and  teachers,  the  experiences  detailed  in 
this  and  numerous  other  scientific  works  on  masturbation, 
present  valuable  suggestions. 

The  lines  of  treatment,  when  antipathic  sexual  instinct 
exists,  are  the  following  : — 

1.  Prevention  of  onanism  and  removal  of  other  in- 
fluences injurious  to  the  vita  sexnalis. 

2.  Cure  of  the  neurosis  {neurasthenia  sexualis  and  uni- 
versalis) arising  out  of  the  unhygienic  conditions  of  the 
viita  sexualis. 

3.  Mental  treatment,  in  the  sense  of  combating  homo- 
sexual, and  encouraging  heterosexual,  feehngs  and  impulses. 

The  most  important  part  of  the  treatment  lies  ni 
fulfilling  the  third  indication,  particularly  with  reference 
to  onanism. 

Only  in  very  few  cases,  where  acquired  antipathic 
sexual  instinct  has  not  progressed  far,  can  the  fulfilment 
of  1  and  2  be  sufficient,  as  a  case  fully  reported  by  the 
author  in  the  "  Irrenfreund,"  1885,  No.  1,  proves.  Cf. 
case  128,  ninth  edition  of  this  book. 

As  a  rule,  physical  treatment,  even  though  it  be  re- 
inforced morally  by  good  advice  with  reference  to  the 
avoidance  of  masturbation,  the  repression  of  homosexual 
feelings  and  impulses,  and  the  encouragement  of  hetero- 
sexual desires,  will  not  prove  sufhcient,  even  in  cases  of 
acquired  sexual  inversion. 

Here  a  method  of  mental  treatment — hypnotic  sug- 
gestion— is  all  that  can  really  benefit  the  patient. 

1  With  reference  to  prophylaxis,  the  following  words,  which  were 
written  to  me  by  the  subject  of  case  88  of  the  sixth  edition,  are  note- 
worthy :  "  If  it  were  only  possible  that — not  as  among  the  Spartans, 
where  the  weaklings  were  allowed  to  perish  for  the  sake  of  perfect  selec- 
tion, in  accordance  with  the  Darwinian  idea — our  antipathic  sexual  instincts 
might  be  recognised  early  in  youth ;  and  if  it  were  only  possible  that,  at 
this  time  of  life,  the  worst  of  all  diseases  could  be  cured  by  suggestion  I 
Probably  cure  could  be  more  easily  effected  in  youth  than  later." 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  435 

I  know  of  but  one  case  in  which  aato-suggestion 
proved  successful,  c/.  case  129,  ninth  edition. 

As  a  rule,  only  suggestion  coming  fro^n  a  second  person, 
and  that  by  means  of  hypnosis,  promises  success. 

In  such  cases,  the  object  of  post-hypnotic  suggestion 
is  to  remove  the  impulse  to  masturbation  and  homosexual 
feelings,  and  to  encourage  heterosexual  emotions  with 
a  sense  of  virility, 

A  prerequisite  is,  of  course,  the  possibility  to  induce 
hypnosis  of  sufficient  intensity.  It  is,  unfortunately,  in 
these  very  cases  of  neurasthenia  that  this  proves  impos- 
sible, since  the  subject  is  often  excited,  embarrassed,  and 
in  no  condition  to  concentrate  the  thoughts. 

By  reason  of  the  great  benefit  that  can  be  given  to 
such  unfortunates,  and  with  Ladame's  case  in  view  {v. 
infra),  in  all  such  cases,  everything  should  be  done  to 
force  hypnosis — the  only  means  of  salvation.  The  result, 
in  the  three  following  cases,  was  satisfactory  : — 

Case  140.  Antipathic  sexual  instinct  acquired  through 
mast2irbation.  Mr.  X.,  merchant,  aged  twenty-nine.  Father's 
parents  healthy.     Nothing  nervous  in  father's  family. 

Father  was  an  irritable,  peevish  old  man.  One  brother 
of  the  father  was  a  man-about-town,  and  died  unmarried. 

Mother  died  in  third  confinement,  when  the  patient 
was  six  years  old  ;  she  had  a  deep,  rough,  masculine 
voice,  and  coarse  appearance.  Of  the  children,  one 
brother  is  irritable,  "  melancholic,"  and  indifferent  to 
women. 

When  a  child,  patient  had  scarlet  fever  with  delirium. 
Up  to  his  fourteenth  year  he  was  Hght-hearted  and  social, 
but,  after  that,  quiet,  sohtary,  and  "  melancholic  ".  The 
first  trace  of  sexual  feehng  appeared  in  his  tenth  or 
eleventh  year,  and  at  that  time  he  learned  masturbation 
from  other  boys,  and  practised  mutual  onanism  with 
them. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen  or  fourteen,  ejaculation  for  the 


436  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

first  time.  Patient  has  felt  no  evil  results  of  onanism 
until  the  last  three  months. 

At  school  he  learned  easily,  but  was  troubled  with 
headaches.  After  the  age  of  twenty,  pollutions,  in  spite 
of  daily  practice  of  onanism.  "With  pollutions  occurred 
"  procreative  "  dreams,  as  man  and  wife  might  perform 
the  act.  In  his  seventeenth  year  he  was  seduced  into 
mutual  onanism  by  a  man  having  a  love  for  men.  He 
found  satisfaction  in  this,  inasmuch  as  he  was  always 
very  passionate  sexually.  It  was  a  long  time  before  the 
patient  again  sought  new  opportunities  for  intercourse 
with  males.     He  did  it  simply  to  rid  himself  of  semen. 

He  felt  no  friendship  or  love  for  the  person  with  whom 
he  had  intercourse.  He  felt  satisfaction  only  when  he 
played  the  passive  role — when  manustupration  was  prac- 
tised on  him.  When  the  act  was  once  completed,  he  had 
no  respect  for  the  individual.  If  it  happened  that,  later, 
he  came  to  respect  the  man,  then  he  ceased  to  indulge 
in  the  act  with  him.  Later  it  became  indifferent  to  him 
whether  he  masturbated  or  had  masturbation  practised 
on  him.  When  he  himself  practised  onanism,  he  always 
thought  of  pleasing  men  practising  onanism  on  him 
during  the  act.     He  preferred  a  hard,  rough  hand. 

The  patient  thought  that,  had  he  not  been  led  astray, 
he  would  have  arrived  at  a  natural  mode  of  satisfaction 
of  his  sexual  desires.  He  never  felt  love  for  his  own  sex, 
though  he  had  pleased  himself  with  the  thought  of 
loving  men.  At  first  he  had  had  sensual  inclinations  to- 
ward the  opposite  sex.  He  had  taken  pleasure  in  dancing, 
and  he  had  been  pleased  with  women,  but  he  had  taken 
more,  pleasure  in  the  figure  than  the  face.  He  had  had 
erections  at  the  sight  of  women  that  pleased  him.  He 
had  never  attempted  coitus,  for  fear  of  infection  ;  whether 
he  was  potent  or  not  with  women,  he  did  not  know.  He 
thought  he  could  be  so  no  longer,  because  his  feeling  for 
women  had  grown  cold,  especially  during  late  years. 

While  previously,  in  his  sensual  dreams,  he  had  had 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  437 

ideas  of  both  men  and  women,  of  late  years  he  had 
dreamed  only  of  approaches  to  men  ;  he  could  not  re- 
member that  he  had  dreamed,  in  late  years,  of  sexual 
relations  with  a  woman.  At  the  theatre,  as  well  as  in 
the  circus  and  ballet,  the  feminine  figure  had  always 
interested  him.  In  museums,  masculine  and  feminine 
statues  had  affected  him  equally. 

Patient  is  a  great  smoker,  a  beer-drinker,  loves  male 
society,  and  is  a  gymnast  and  skater.  Anything  dandified 
was  repugnant  to  him,  and  he  had  never  felt  any  desire 
to  please  men  ;  he  would  even  liave  preferred  to  please 
women. 

He  now  felt  his  position  to  be  painful,  because  onanism 
had  obtained  the  upper  hand.  Masturbation,  that  had 
previously  been  practised  without  evil  effects,  now  began 
to  disclose  its  bad  results. 

Since  July,  1889,  he  had  suffered  with  neuralgia  of 
the  testicles.  The  pain  occurred  particularly  at  night  ; 
and  at  night  there  was  also  trembling  (increased  reflex 
excitability).  • 

Sleep  was  not  refreshing,  and  he  would  wake  up  with 
pain  in  the  testicles.  He  was  inclined,  now,  to  indulge 
more  frequently  in  onanism.  He  was  afraid  of  the  con- 
sequences of  the  habit.  He  hoped  that  his  sexual  life 
might  still  be  turned  into  normal  channels.  Now,  he 
thought  of  the  future  ;  he  had  a  relation  with  a  girl,  who 
was  attractive  to  him,  and  the  thought  to  possess  her 
as  a  wife  was  pleasing. 

For  five  days  he  had  abstained  from  onanism,  but  he 
could  scarcely  believe  that  he  would  be  able,  with  his 
own  strength,  to  overcome  the  habit.  Of  late  he  had 
been  very  much  depressed,  having  lost  all  desire  for 
work,  and  become  tired  of  life. 

Patient  is  tall,  powerful,  well  nourished,  and  has  a 
thick  growth  of  beard.  Skull  and  skeleton  normal.  Knee- 
jerks  very  prompt ;  deep  reflexes  in  upper  extremities 
much  increased.     Pupils  dilated,  equal,  and  act  promptly. 


438  PSTCnOPATHIA   S]:XUALIS. 

Carotids  of  equal  calibre  ;  hyperaesthesia  iirethrne  ;  cords 
and  testicles  not  sensitive  ;  genitals  normal. 

The  patient  was  calmed,  and  given  hope  for  the  future, 
provided  that  he  gave  up  onanism  and  attempted  to  transfer 
his  sexual  desires  from  persons  of  his  own  sex  to  females. 

Hip-baths  (24°  to  20°  E.);  extr.  Secal.  cornut.  aquos., 
0"5  ;  antipyrm,  I'O  {pro  die)  ;  pot.  brom.,  4'0  (evenings), 
were  ordered. 

13th  December.  To-day  the  patient  came,  in  a  dis- 
turbed condition  of  mind,  complaining  that,  unaided,  he 
was  unable  to  resist  the  impulse  to  masturbate,  and  be 
asked  for  help. 

A  trial  of  hypnosis  induced  a  condition  of  deep  lethargy 
in  the  patient. 

He  was  given  the  following  suggestions  : — 

1.  I  can  not,  must  not,  and  will  not  masturbate  again. 

2.  I  abhor  the  love  for  my  own  sex,  and  shall  never 
again  think  men  handsome. 

3.  I  shall  and  will  become  well  again,  fall  in  love  with 
a  virtuous  woman,  be  happy,  and  make  her  happy. 

14th  December.  "While  out  walking  to-day,  patient 
saw  a  handsome  man,  and  felt  himself  powerfully  drawn 
toward  him. 

From  this  time  there  were  hypnotic  sittings  every 
second  day,  with  the  above  suggestions. 

18th  December  (fourth  sitting),  somnambulism  oc- 
curred ;  the  impulse  to  onanism  and  interest  in  men 
disappear. 

At  the  eighth  sitting  "  complete  virility  "  was  added  to 
the  above  suggestions.  The  patient  feels  himself  morally 
elevated  and  physically  strengthened.  The  neuralgia  of 
the  testicles  has  disappeared.  He  now  found  that  he 
was  without  sexual  feeling. 

He  now  believed  himself  free  from  masturbation  and 
inverted  sexual  inchnation. 

After  the  eleventh  sitting  he  thought  that  further  help 
was  unnecessary.     He  wished  to  go  home,  and  marry. 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  439 

He  felt  well  and  potent.     Early  in  January,  1890,  treat- 
ment ceased. 

In  March,  1890,  the  patient  wrote  :  "  I  have  since 
had  several  occasions  on  which  it  has  been  necessary  for 
me  to  use  all  my  moral  strength  in  order  to  overcome 
my  habit,  and,  thank  God,  I  have  been  successful  in 
freeing  myself  from  this  vice.  Several  times  I  have  had 
opportunity  for  sexual  intercourse,  and  I  have  found 
pleasure  in  it.     I  look  calmly  on  my  happy  future." 

The  foregoing  details  of  the  successful  results  of 
hypnotic  suggestion,  in  cases  of  acquired  sexual  inversion, 
make  it  seem  possible  that  those  unfortunates  who  are 
afflicted  with  congenital  perversion  may  be  helped  in 
some  degree  by  the  same  means. 

The  most  favourable  cases  are  those  of  psychosexual 
hermaphrodism  in  which  at  least  rudimentary  heterosexual 
feelings  may  be  strengthened  by  suggestion  and  brought 
into  active  practice. 

Case  141.  Mr.  von  X.,  aged  twenty- five,  landed 
proprietor.  He  comes  of  a  neuropathic,  irascible  father, 
who  is  said  to  have  been  sexually  normal.  His  mother 
was  nervous,  as  were  her  two  sisters.  Maternal  grand- 
mother was  nervous,  and  maternal  grandfather  a  roue, 
much  given  to  venery.  Patient  is  like  his  mother,  and 
an  only  child.  From  birth  he  was  weak,  suffered  much 
with  migraine,  and  was  nervous.  He  passed  through 
several  illnesses.  At  fifteen  he  began  masturbation,  with- 
out having  been  taught. 

Until  his  seventeenth  year  he  says  he  never  had 
feeling  for  men,  or,  in  fact,  any  sexual  inclination  ;  but 
at  this  time  desire  for  men  arose.  He  fell  in  love  with  a 
comrade.  His  friend  returned  his  love.  They  embraced 
and  kissed  and  indulged  in  mutual  onanism.  Occasionally 
patient  practised  coitus  inter  femora  viri.  He  abhorred 
pederasty.      Lascivious  dreams  were  concerned  only  with 


440  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

men.  In  the  circus  and  theatre  males  alone  interested 
him.  The  inchnation  was  for  those  of  about  twenty  years. 
Handsome,  tall  forms  were  enticing  to  him.  Given  these 
conditions,  he  was  quite  indifferent  to  other  characteristics 
of  the  m-en.  In  his  sexual  affairs  with  men  his  part  was 
always  that  of  a  man. 

After  his  eighteenth  year  the  patient  was  always  a 
source  of  anxiety  to  his  highly  respected  parents,  for  he 
then  began  a  love-affair  with  a  male  waiter,  who  fleeced 
him  and  made  him  an  object  of  remark  and  ridicule. 
He  was  taken  home.  He  consorted  with  servants  and 
hostlers.  He  caused  a  scandal.  He  was  sent  away  to 
travel  about.  In  London  he  got  into  a  "  blackmailing 
scrape,"  but  succeeded  in  escaping  to  his  home. 

He  profited  in  no  way  by  this  bitter  experience, 
and  again  showed  disgraceful  inclinations  toward  men. 
Patient  was  sent  to  me  to  be  cured  of  his  fatal  peculiarity 
(December,  1888).  Patient  is  a  tall,  stately,  robust,  well- 
nourished  young  man,  of  masculine  build  ;  large,  well- 
formed  genitals.  Gait,  voice,  and  attitude  are  masculine. 
He  has  no  pronounced  masculine  passions.  He  smokes 
but  httle,  and  only  cigarettes  ;  drinks  httle,  and  is  fond 
of  confectionery.  He  loves  music,  arts,  Besthetics,  flowers, 
and  moves  in  ladies'  society  by  preference.  He  wears  a 
moustache,  the  face  being  otherwise  cleanly  shaved.  His 
garments  are  in  nowise  remarkable.  He  is  a  soft,  hlas4 
fellow,  and  a  do-nothing.  He  lies  abed  mornings,  and 
can  scarcely  be  made  to  rise  before  noon.  He  says  he 
has  never  regarded  his  inclination  toward  his  own  sex 
as  abnormal.  He  looks  upon  it  as  congenital ;  but,  tau[;ht 
by  his  evil  experiences,  he  wishes  to  be  cured  of  his 
perversion.  He  has  httle  faith  in  his  own  will.  He  has 
tried  to  reform,  but  always  lapses  into  masturbation 
which  he  finds  injurious,  inasmuch  as  it  causes  (slight) 
neurasthenic  symptoms.  There  is  no  moral  defect.  In- 
telligence is  a  little  below  the  average.  Careful  education 
and   aristocratic  manners  are   app:u'cnt.     The   exquisite 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  441 

neuropathic  eye  betrays  a  nervous  constitution.  The 
patient  is  not  a  complete  and  hopeless  urninf:,^  He  has 
heterosexual  feelings,  his  sensual  inclinations  toivard  the  oppo- 
site sex,  however,  are  manifested  hut  weakly  and  infrequently. 
When  nineteen,  he  was  first  taken  to  a  brothel  by  friends. 
He  experienced  no  horror  femince,  had  efficient  erections, 
and  some  pleasure  in  coitus,  bat  not  the  instinctive 
dehght  he  experienced  while  embracing  men. 

Since  then,  patient  asserts  that  he  has  had  coitus  six 
times,  twice  sua  sponte.  He  gives  the  assurance  that  he  is 
always  capable  of  it,  but  he  does  it  only  faute  de  micux,  as 
he  does  masturbation,  when  the  sexual  impulse  troubles 
him,  as  a  substitute  for  intercourse  with  men.  He  has 
thought  of  the  possibility  of  finding  a  sympathetic  lady 
and  marrying  her.  He  would  regard  marital  cohabitation 
and  abstinence  from  intercourse  with  men  as  hard  duties. 

Since  there  were  rudiments  of  heterosexual  feelings 
present,  and  the  case  could  not  be  looked  upon  as  hopeless, 
it  seemed  that  treatment  was  indicated.  The  indications 
were  clear  enough,  but  there  was  no  support  for  them 
in  the  will  of  the  indolent  patient,  so  unconscious  of  his 
own  position.  It  lay  near  to  seek  support  for  the  moral 
influence  in  hypnosis.  The  fulfilment  of  this  hope  seemed 
doubtful,  because  the  famous  ilawsew  had  tried  several 
times,  in  vain,  to  hypnotise  him. 

At  the  same  time,  by  reason  of  the  most  important 
social  interests  of  the  patient,  it  was  necessary  to  make 
another  attempt.  To  my  great  surprise,  Bemheim's  pro- 
cedure induced  immediately  a  condition  of  deep  lethargy, 
with  possibility  of  post-hypnotic  suggestion. 

At  the  second  sitting  somnambulism  was  induced  by 
merely  looking  at  him.  The  patient  easily  yields  to 
suggestions  of  all  kinds  ;  indeed,  contractures  are  induced 
by  stroking  him.  He  is  awakened  by  counting  three. 
Awakened,  patient  has  amnesia  for  all  the  events  of  the 
hypnotic  state.  Hypnosis  is  induced  every  second  or 
third  day  for  the  communication  of  hypnotic  suggestions. 


442  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

At  the  same  time,  moral  and  hydro-therapeutic  measures 
are  employed. 

The  hypnotic  suggestions  were  as  follow  : — 

1.  I  abhor  onanism,  because  it  makes  me  weak  and 
miserable. 

2.  I  no  longer  have  inclination  toward  men ;  for  love 
for  men  is  against  religion,  nature  and  law. 

3.  I  feel  an  inclmatioii  toward  women  ;  for  woman 
is  lovely  and  desirable,  and  created  for  man. 

During  the  sittings  the  patient  always  repeated  verbatim 
these  suggestions.  After  the  fourth  sitting  it  was  notice- 
able, that,  when  taken  into  society,  he  paid  court  to 
ladies.  Shortly  after  that,  when  a  famous  prima-donna 
sang,  he  was  all  enthusiasm  for  her.  Some  days  later 
the  patient  sought  the  address  of  a  brothel. 

Yet  he  preferred  the  society  of  young  gentlemen  ;  but 
the  most  careful  watching  failed  to  reveal  anything 
suspicious. 

17th  February.  Patient  asks  to  be  allowed  to  indulge 
in  coitus,  and  is  very  well  satisfied  with  his  experience 
with  one  of  the  demi-monde. 

16th  March.  Up  to  this  time,  hypnosis  twice  a  week. 
The  patient  always  passes  into  deep  somnambulism  by 
simply  being  looked  at,  and,  at  request,  repeats  the  sug- 
gestions. He  is  susceptible  to  all  kinds  of  post-hypnotic 
suggestion,  and,  in  the  waking  state,  knows  not  the  least 
of  the  influences  exerted  on  him  in  the  hypnotic  state. 
In  the  hypnotic  condition  he  always  gives  the  assurance 
that  he  is  free  from  onanism  and  sexual  feeling  for 
men.  Since  he  gives  the  same  answers  in  hypnosis— e.(/., 
that  on  such  and  such  a  date  he  practised  onan'sm  for 
the  last  time,  and  that  he  is  too  much  under  the  will 
of  the  physician  to  be  able  to  lie — his  assertions  deserve 
belief;  the  more,  since  he  looks  well  and  is  free  from 
all  neurasthenic  symptoms,  and,  in  the  society  of  men, 
not  the  slightest  suspicion  rests  on  him.  An  open,  free, 
and  manly  bearing  is  developed. 


ANTIPATHIC    SEXUAL    INSTINCT.  443 

Moreover,  since,  of  his  own  will,  he  now  and  then 
indulf:^es  in  coitus  with  pleasure,  and  occasional  pollutions 
are  induced  by  lascivious  dreams  which  concern  women, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  favourable  change  of  his 
vita  sexualis  ;  and  it  is  presumable  that  the  hypnotic  sug- 
gestions have  developed  into  auto-suggestive  inclinations, 
which  direct  his  feelings,  thoughts  and  will.  Probably 
the  patient  will  always  remain  a  natura  frigida  ;  but  he 
more  often  speaks  of  marriage,  and  of  his  intention  to 
win  a  wife  as  soon  as  he  has  become  acquainted  with 
a  sympathetic  lady.  Treatment  was  stopped.  (Author's 
own  case,  "  Internat.  Centralbl.  fiir  die  Physiol,  und 
Pathol,  der  Harn-  und  Sexualorgane  "  Band  i.) 

In  July,  1889,  I  received  a  letter  from  his  father, 
telhng  me  of  the  son's  good  health  and  conduct. 

On  24th  May,  1890,  by  chance,  I  met  my  former 
patient,  while  on  a  journey.  His  bright,  healthful  appear- 
ance allowed  the  most  favourable  opinion  of  his  condition. 
He  told  me  that  he  still  had  sympathetic  feeling  for  some 
men,  but  never  anything  like  love.  He  occasionally  had 
pleasurable  coitus  with  women,  and  now  thought  of 
marriage. 

I  hypnotised  him,  in  the  former  manner,  to  try  him, 
and  asked  for  the  commands  I  had  given  him.  In  a  deep 
condition  of  somnambulism,  and  in  the  same  tone  of 
voice  as  formerly,  the  patient  repeated  the  suggestions 
he  had  received  in  December,  1888 — an  excellent  example 
of  the  possible  duration  and  power  of  post-hypnotic  sug- 
gestion. 

Other  cases  may  be  found  in  the  eighth  edition,  cases 
137,  138,  140,  141  ;  and  ninth  edition,  case  133  of  this 
book. 

The  cases  quoted  by  the  author,  as  well  as  those  given 
by  Ladavie  in  which  suggestion  removed  the  homosexual 
instinct,  or,  at  least,  neutralised  it  (as  a  protection  from 
shame  and  law),  seem  to  afford  a  proof  that  even  the 


444  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

gravest  cases  of  congenital  sexual  inversion  may  be  bene- 
fited by  the  application  of  hypnotism. 

Wetterstrand  (cf.  Schrenck^op.  cit.,  case  49),  Bernheim  (cf. 
Schrenck,  case  51),  Muller  {cf.  Schrenck,  case  53),  Schrenck 
(op.  cit.,  cases  66,  67),  report  even  complete  success  in 
displacing  the  homosexual  by  the  heterosexual  instinct 
coupled  with  virility.  Schrenck  (op.  cit.,  cases  62,  63) 
succeeded  also  in  cases  of  effeminatio. 

But  only  when  hypnotism  produces  deep  somnam- 
buhsm,  decided  and  lasting  results  may  be  hoped  for, 
which  after  all  are  nothing  more  than  suggestive  training, 
not  a  real  cure.  They  are  marvellous  "  arte/acta "  of 
hypnotic  science  practised  on  abnormal  human  beings, 
but  by  no  means  "  transformations "  {cf.  Schrenck)  of  a 
psychosexual  existence. 

Very  instructive  in  this  respect  is  a  case  related  by 
Schrenck,  the  representative  of  which  after  effected 
"  cure  "  says  of  himself :  "  I  am  ever  conscious  of  a 
certain  insuperable  coercion  which  does  not  rest  upon 
moral  principles,  but  must,  as  I  beheve,  be  referable 
directly  to  treatment ".  At  any  rate  such  "  cures " 
afford  no  proof  whatsoever  against  the  assumption  of 
original  conditionahty  of  sexual  inversion. 

It  is  necessary  here  to  warn  the  reader  against  illusions 
about  the  true  value  of  hypnotic  therapy. 


IV.— SPECIAL  PATHOLOGY. 

the  manifestations  of  abnormal  sexual  life  in  the 

various  forms  and  states  of  mental 

disturbance. 

Arrest  of  Mental  Development. 

Sexual  life  in  idiots  is,  generally  speaking,  but  slightly 
developed.  It  is  wanting  entirely  in  idiots  of  high  grade. 
In  such  instances  the  genitals  are  frequently  small  and 
deformed,  and  menstruation  is  late  or  does  not  occur  at 
all.  There  is  either  impotence  or  sterility.  Even  in 
idiots  of  low  grade,  sexuality  is  not  prominent.  In  rare 
cases  it  is  manifested  with  a  certain  periodicity,  and  then 
with  greater  intensity.  It  may  then  find  expression  in 
sudden  impulses,  and  be  violently  satisfied.  Perversions 
of  the  sexual  instinct  do  not  seem  to  occur  at  the  lowest 
levels  of  mental  development. 

AVhen  the  desire  for  sexual  satisfaction  is  opposed 
in  these  cases,  great  passion  is  excited,  with  danger  of 
murderous  assault  on  the  pers-ons  attacked.  It  is  to  be 
expected  that  idiots  should  not  exercise  choice,  and  even 
attempt  to  satisfy  the  sexual  instinct  on  their  nearest 
relatives. 

Thus  Marc-Ideler  reports  the  case  of  an  idiot  who 
attempted  to  rape  his  sister,  and  had  almost  strangled 
her  when  he  was  discovered. 

Friedreich  reports  an  analogous  case  ("  Friedreich's 
Blatter,"  1858,  p.  60). 

I  have  repeatedly  had  occasion  to  give  opinions  in 
cases  of  attempts  to  rape  little  girls. 

(445) 


446  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Giraud  ("  Annal.  med.  psych,"  1885,  No.  1)  also  reports 
a  case  of  this  kind.  Consciousness  of  the  significance 
of  the  act  is  always  wanting ;  but  an  instinctive  know- 
ledge that  such  obscene  acts  are  not  publicly  permitted 
is  often  present,  and  causes  the  act  to  be  undertaken  in 
a  deserted  place. 

In  imbeciles  the  sexual  instinct  is  usually  developed 
as  in  normal  individuals.  The  moral  inhibitory  ideas  are 
cloudy,  and,  therefore,  the  sexual  impulse  is  more  or  less 
openly  manifested.  For  this  reason  imbeciles  are  sources 
of  disturbance  in  society.  Abnormal  intensity  and  per- 
version of  the  sexual  instinct  are  infrequent. 

The  most  frequent  manner  of  satisfaction  of  the 
sexual  desire  is  onanism.  The  weak-minded  seldom  make 
sexual  attacks  on  adults  of  the  opposite  sex. 

Sexual  satisfaction  with  animals  is  frequently  at- 
tempted. The  great  majority  of  cases  of  injury  (sexual) 
to  animals  must  be  attributed  to  imbeciles.  Children  are 
quite  often  their  victims. 

E7nminghaus  ("  Maschkas  Handb.,"  iv.,  p.  234)  draws 
attention  to  the  frequency  of  unrestricted  manifestation 
of  sexual  instinct,  which  comprises  open  masturbation, 
exhibition  of  the  genitals,  attacks  on  children  and  those 
of  the  same  sex,  and  sodomy. 

Giraud  ("Annal.  med.  psychol.,"  1855,  No.  1)  has 
reported  a  whole  series  of  immoral  attacks  on  children  ^ : — 

1.  H.,  aged  seventeen,  imbecile,  enticed  a  little  girl  into 
a  barn,  by  giving  her  nuts.  There  he  exposed  her  genitals 
and  showed  his  own,  making  movements  of  coitus  on 
the  child's  abdomen.  He  had  no  idea  of  the  moral 
significance  of  the  act. 

2.  L.,  aged  twenty-one  ;  imbecile  ;  degenerate.    While 

^  For  numerous  cases,  "v.  Henke's,  Zeitschr.,"  xxiii.,  "  Erganzungs- 
heft,"  p.  147  ;  Combes,"  Annal.  med.  psychol.,"  1866  ;  Lijnan,  "  Zweifelh 
Geisteszustande,"  p.  389  ;  Casper-Liman,  "  Lehrb.,  7.  Auflage,"  Fall  295; 
Bartels,  "  Friedreich's,  Blatter  f.  gerichtl.  Med.,"  1890,  Heft  1. 


AEEEST    OF    MENTAL    DEVELOPMENT.  447 

he  was  watching  cattle,  his  sister  of  eleven  years,  with  a 
playmate  of  eight  years,  came  and  told  him  how  some 
miknown  man  had  attempted  to  do  them  violence.  L. 
led  the  children  to  a  deserted  house  and  attempted  coitus 
with  the  younger  child,  but  let  her  go  because  immission 
was  unsuccessful,  and  because  the  child  cried  out.  On 
the  way  home  he  promised  to  marry  her  if  she  would 
not  say  anything.  At  the  trial  he  thought  that  by 
marriage  he  could  right  the  wrong  he  had  done. 

3.  G.  aged  twenty-one,  microcephalic,  imbecile,  has 
masturbated  since  his  sixth  year,  and  practised  active 
and  passive  pederasty.  He  has  repeatedly  tried  to  per- 
form pederasty  with  boys,  and  attacked  little  girls.  He 
was  absolutely  without  an  understanding  of  his  acts. 
His  sexual  desires  were  manifested  periodically  and  in- 
tensely, as  in  animals.^ 

4.  B.,  aged  twenty-one  ;  imbecile.  While  alone  in  a 
forest  with  his  sister  of  nineteen,  he  demanded  that  she 
allow  coitus.  She,  refused.  He  threatened  to  strangle 
her,  and  stabbed  her  with  a  knife.  The  frightened  gnl 
wrenched  his  penis,  and  he  then  left  her  and  quietly 
went  on  with  his  work.  B.  has  a  deformed,  micro- 
cephalic skuU,  and  has  no  sense  of  the  significance  of 
his  act. 

Emminghaus  {op.  cit.,  p.  234)  reports  the  case  of  an 
exhibitionist  : — 

Case  142.  A  man,  aged  forty,  married,  had  for  six- 
teen years  been  accustomed  to  exhibit  himself  in  parks,  at 
dusk,  to  httle  girls  and  servants,  and  drew  their  atten- 
tion to  himself  by  whisthng.  After  having  been  frequently 
punished  for  it,  he  avoided  the  places,  but  he  carried  on 
his  practice  elsewhere.  Hydrocephalus.  Mental  weakness 
of  slight  degree.     Mild  sentence  passed. 

1  Other  cases  of  pederasty,  v.  Casper,  "  Klin,  Novcllen,"  Fall  5 ; 
Combes,  "  Annal.  med.  psychol.,"  July,  1866. 


448  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Case  143.  X.,of  tainted  family  ;  imbecile;  defective 
and  perverted  in  intellect,  feeling  and  v^ill.  For  help 
and  protection  he  was  brought  before  an  officer.  It  was 
complained  that  he  had  repeatedly  exposed  his  genitals 
to  servant-girls,  and  had  shown  himself  at  windows  with 
the  upper  portion  of  his  body  naked.  No  other  mani- 
festations of  inverted  sexual  instinct.  No  onanism  reported 
{Sander,  "  Archiv  f.  Psych.,"  i.,  p.  655). 

Case  144.  Pederasty  with  a  child.  On  8th  April, 
1884,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  while  X.  was  sitting  in  the  street, 
holding  a  boy  of  eighteen  months  on  her  lap,  a  certain 
Vallario  approached  and  took  the  child  from  X.,  saying 
he  was  going  to  take  it  for  a  walk.  He  went  the  distance 
of  half  a  kilometre,  and  returned,  saying  that  the  child 
had  fallen  from  his  arms,  and  thus  injured  its  anus.  The 
anus  was  torn,  and  blood  was  pouring  from  it.  At  the 
place  where  the  deed  was  done,  traces  of  semen  were 
found.  V.  confessed  his  horrible  crime,  and,  at  his  final 
trial,  he  acted  so  strangely  that  an  examination  of  his 
mental  condition  was  made.  He  had  impressed  the 
prison  attendants  as  being  an  imbecile.  V.,  aged  forty- 
five,  mason,  defective  morally  and  intellectaally,  is  dolicho- 
microcephalic  ;  has  narrow,  deformed  fucial  bones,  and 
the  halves  of  the  face  and  the  ears  are  asynnnetrical  ;  the 
brow  is  low  and  retreating  ;  genitals  normal.  V.  shows 
general  diminution  of  cutaneous  sensibility,  is  imbecile, 
and  has  no  ideas.  He  lives  in  the  present,  has  no 
ambition,  and  does  nothing  of  his  own  will.  He  has  no 
desires  and  no  emotional  feeling.  He  has  never  had 
coitus.  Nothing  more  could  be  ascertained  about  his 
vita  sexualis.  Proofs  of  intellectual  and  moral  idiocy,  due 
to  microcephaly  ;  the  crime  is  ascribed  to  a  perverse,  un- 
controllable sexual  impulse.  Sent  to  an  asylum  {Virgilio, 
"  11  Manicomio,"  v.   y^ear,  No.  3). 

A  case  mentioned  by  L.  Meyer  ("  Arch.  f.  Psych.,"  Bd. 


STATES   OF   ACQUIRED    MENTAL   WEAKNESS.  449 

i.,  p.  103)  shows  how  female  imbeciles  may  indulge  in 
shameless  prostitution  and  immorality/ 

States  of  Acquired  IVlental  Weakness. 

The  numerous  anomalies  of  the  vita  sexualis  in  senile 
dementia  have  been  described  in  the  section  on  "  General 
Pathology ".  In  other  conditions  of  acquired  mental 
weakness — those  due  to  apoplexy  ;  trauma  capitis  ;  to  the 
secondary  stages  of  psychoses  ;  or  to  inflammatory  pro- 
cesses in  the  cortex  (lues,  paretic  dementia), — perversions 
of  the  sexual  instinct  seem  to  be  infrequent  ;  and  here 
the  immoral  sexual  acts  seem  to  depend  on  abnormally 
increased  or  uninhibited  sexual  feeling,  which,  in  itself, 
is  not  abnormal. 

1.  Dementia  Consecutive  to  Psychoses. 

Casper  ("  Klin.  Novellen,"  Fall  31)  reports  a  case  that 
belongs  here.  It  is  that  of  a  physician,  aged  thirty-three, 
who  attempted  rape  on  a  child.  He  was  weakened 
mentally,  as  a  result  of  hypochondriacal  melancholia. 
He  excused  his  deed  in  a  very  silly  way,  and  had  no 
appreciation  of  the  moral  and  criminal  meaning  of  the 
act,  which  was  apparently  the  result  of  a  sexual  impulse 
that  could  not  be  controlled  on  account  of  his  mental 
weakness. 

Case  21,  in  Liman's,  "  Zweifelhafte  Geisteszustande," 
is  an  analogous  case  (dementia  after  melancholia  ;  offence 
against  morals  by  exhibition). 

2.  Dementia  After  Apoplexy. 

Case  145.  B.,  aged  fifty-two.  He  passed  through  a 
cerebral  attack,  and  was  no  longer  able  to  carry  on  his 
business  as  a  merchant. 

1  V.  Sander,  "  Vierteljahrsschr.  f.  ger.  Med.,"  xviii.,  p.  31 ;  Casper, 
"  Klin.  Novellen,"  Fall  27. 

29 


450  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

One  day,  in  the  absence  of  his  wife,  he  locked  two 
girls  in  the  house,  gave  them  liquors  to  drink,  and  then 
carried  out  sexual  acts  with  the  children.  He  commanded 
them  to  say  nothing,  and  went  to  his  business.  The 
medical  expert  established  mental  weakness,  resulting 
from  repeated  apoplexies.  B.,  who,  up  to  this  time, 
had  been  well-behaved,  says  he  committed  the  criminal 
act  because  of  an  uncontrollable  and  incomprehensible 
impulse  ;  and  that,  when  he  came  to  himself,  he  was 
ashamed,  and  sent  the  girls  away.  Since  his  apoplectic 
attack,  B.  had  been  weak-minded,  incapable  of  business, 
and  hemiplegic  ;  but,  soon  after  arrest,  he  made  an  un- 
skilful attempt  at  suicide.  He  often  cried,  childishly. 
His  moral  and  intellectual  energy  in  opposing  his  sexual 
impulses  was  certainly  much  Weakened.  No  sentence 
{Giraud,  "  Ann.  med.  Psychol,"  March,  1881). 


'■  ..  3.  Dementia  After  Injury  of  Head. 

Case  146.  K,  when  fourteen  years  old,  was  injured 
on  the  head  by  a  horse.  The  skull  was  fractured  in 
several  places,  and  several  pieces  of  bone  required  re- 
moval. 

From  that  time  K.  was  weak  mentally,  irascible,  and 
ill-tempered.  Gradually  he  developed  an  inordinate  and 
truly  beastly  sensuality,  which  drove  him  to  the  most 
immoral  acts.  One  day  he  raped  a  girl  of  twelve,  and 
strangled  her  for  fear  of  discovery.  Arrested,  he  confessed. 
The  medical  experts  declared  him  responsible,  and  he 
was  executed. 

The  autopsy  revealed  ossification  of  almost  all  the 
sutures,  remarkable  asymmetry  of  the  halves  of  the  skull, 
and  evidences  of  healed  fractures.  The  affected  hemi- 
sphere had  bands  of  cicatricial  tissue  running  through 
it,  and  was  one-third  smaller  than  the  other  {Friedreich's 
"  Blatter,"  1885,  Heft  6). 


STATES    OF   ACQUIRED    MENTAL    WEAKNESS.  451 

4.  Acquired  Mental  Weakness,  Probably  Resulting 
from  Lues. 

Case  147.  X,,  officer,  had  repeatedly  committed 
immoral  acts  with  little  girls  ;  among  other  things,  he 
had  induced  them  to  perform  manustupration  on  him, 
had  exposed  his  genitals,  and  handled  theirs. 

X.,  formerly  healthy,  and  of  blameless  life,  was  in- 
fected with  syphihs  in  1867.  In  1879  paralysis  of  the 
left  abducens  occurred.  Thereafter  mental  weakijess  was 
noticed,  with  a  change  of  his  disposition  and  character. 
Headache,  occasional  incoherence  of  speech,  failure  of 
power  of  thought  and  logic,  occasional  inequality  of 
pupils,  and  paresis  of  the  right  facial  muscles,  were  ob- 
served. 

X.,  aged  thirty-seven,  shows  no  trace  of  lues  when 
examined.  The  paralysis  of  the  left  abducens  is  still 
present.  The  left  eye  is  amblyopic.  He  is  mentally 
weak.  Concerning  the  trial  that  was  before  him,  he  said 
it  was  nothing  but  a  harmless  misunderstanding.  Indi- 
cations of  aphasia.  Weakness  of  memory,  particularly 
for  recent  events.  Superficial  emotional  reaction  ;  rapid 
exhaustion  of  memory  and  ability  to  speak.  Proved  : 
that  the  ethical  defect  and  the  perverse  sexual  impulse 
are  the  symptoms  of  an  abnormal  condition  of  brain 
induced  by  lues. 

Suspension  of  criminal  proceedings  (personal  case, 
"  Jahrbiicher  fiir  Psychiatric  "). 

5.  Paretic  Dementia. 

Here  the  sexual  life  is  usually  abnormally  affected  ;  in 
the  incipient  stages  of  the  disease,  as  well  as  in  episodical 
states  of  excitement,  it  is  intensified,  and  sometimes  per- 
verse. In  the  final  stages  libido  and  sexual  power  usually 
become  7nl. 

Just  as  in  the  prodromal  stage  of  the  senile  forms,  one 
sees  here,  in  connection  with  more  or  less  evident  losses 


452  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

in  the  moral  and  intellectual  spheres,  expressions  of  an 
apparently  intensified  sexual  instinct  (obscene  talk,  las- 
civiousness  in  intercourse  with  the  opposite  sex,  thouglits 
of  marriage,  frequenting  of  brothels,  etc.),  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  clouding  of  consciousness. 

Seduction,  abduction  and  pubHc  scandal  are  here  the 
order  of  the  day.  At  first  there  is  still  some  appreciation 
of  the  circumstances,  though  the  cynicism  of  the  acts  is 
striking  enough.  As  the  mental  weakness  increases,  such 
patients- become  criminal  by  reason  of  exhibition,  mastur- 
bation in  the  streets  and  attempts  at  immoral  acts  with 
children. 

If  conditions  of  mental  excitement  come  on,  attempts 
at  rape  are  committed,  or,  at  least,  grossly  immoral  acts, — 
the  patient  attacks  women  on  the  street,  appears  in  public 
in  very  imperfect  dress  ;  or,  half-clothed,  tries  to  force  his 
way  into  strange  houses,  to  cohabit  with  the  wife  of  an 
acquaintance,  or  to  marry  the  daughter  on  the  spot. 

Numerous  cases  belonging  to  this  category  are  cited 
by  Tardieu  ("Attentats  aux  moeurs  ")  ;  Mendel  ("  Progres- 
sive Paralyse  der  Irren,"  1880,  p.  123);  Westphal  ("Arch. 
f.  Psych.,  vii.,  p.  622) ;  and  a  case  by  Petrucci  ("Annal. 
med.  Psychol.,"  1875)  shows  that  bigamy  may  also  occur 
here. 

The  brutal  disregard  of  consequences  with  which  the 
patients  in  the  advanced  stages  attempt  to  satisfy  their 
sexual  needs  is  characteristic. 

In  a  case  reported  by  Legrand  ("  La  folie,"  p.  519),  the 
father  of  a  family  was  found  masturbating  in  the  open 
street.     After  the  act  he  consumed  his  semen. 

A  patient  seen  by  me,  an  officer,  of  a  prominent 
family,  in  broad  daylight,  made  attacks  on  little  girls  at 
a  watering-place. 

A  similar  case  is  reported  by  Dr.  Begis  ("  De  la 
dynamie  ou  exaltation  fonctionnelle  au  debut  de  la  paral. 
gen.,"  1878). 

Cases  reported  by  TarnowsJcy  {op.  cit.,  p.  82)  show  that 


EPILEPSY.  453 

also  pederasty  and  bestiality  may  occur  in  the  prodromal 
stages  and  course  of  this  malady. 

Epilepsy. 

Epilepsy  is  allied  to  the  acquired  states  of  mental 
weakness  because  it  often  leads  to  them,  and  then  all  the 
possibilities  of  reckless  satisfaction  of  the  sexual  impulse 
that  have  been  mentioned  may  occur.  Moreover,  in 
many  epileptics  the  sexual  instinct  is  very  intense.  For 
the  most  part  it  is  satisfied  by  masturbation,  now  and 
then  by  attacks  on  children,  and  by  pederasty.  Perver- 
sion of  the  instinct  with  perverse  sexual  acts  seems  to  be 
infrequent. 

Much  more  important  are  the  numerous  cases  in 
literature  in  which  epileptics,  who,  during  intervals, 
present  no  signs  of  active  sexual  impulse,  but  manifest  it 
in  connection  with  epileptic  attacks,  or  during  the  time 
of  equivalent  or  post-epileptic  exceptional  mental  states. 
These  cases  have  scarcely  yet  been  studied  clinically,  and 
forensically  not  at  all ;  but  they  deserve  careful  study. 
In  this  way  certain  cases  of  violence  and  rape  would  be 
understood,  and  legal  murders  prevented. 

From  the  following  facts  it  will  certainly  be  clear  that 
the  cerebral  changes  which  accompany  the  epileptic  out- 
break may  induce  an  abnormal  excitation  of  the  sexual 
instinct.^  Besides,  in  the  exceptional  mental  states  of 
epileptics,  they  are  unable  to  resist  their  impulses,  by 
reason  of  the  disturbance  of  consciousness. 

For  years  I  have  known  a  young  epileptic,  of  bad 
heredity,  who,  always  after  frequent    epileptic  seizures, 

^  Arndt  ("  Lehrb.  d.  Psych,"  p.  410)  especially  emphasises  the  pas- 
sionate element  in  epileptics :  "  I  have  known  epileptics  who  behaved 
in  a  most  sensual  way  toward  their  mothers,  and  others  who  were 
suspected  by  their  fathers  of  sexual  intercourse  with  the  mothers".  But 
when  Arndt  declares  that,  wherever  there  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  sexual 
life,  thought  of  an  epileptic  element  should  come  into  consideration,  he  is 
in  error. 


454  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

attacks  his  mother  and  tries  to  violate  her.  After  a  time 
he  comes  to  himself,  and  has  no  recollection  of  his  acts. 
In  the  intervals  he  is  very  strict  in  morals,  and  has  hut 
slight  sexual  inclination. 

Some  years  ago  I  became  acquainted  with  a  young 
peasant,  who,  during  epileptic  attacks,  masturbated  shame- 
lessly, but  during  the  intervals  was  above  reproach. 

Simon  ("  Crimes  et  delits,"  p.  220)  mentions  an  epilep- 
tic girl  of  twenty-three,  well  educated,  and  of  the  best 
morals,  who,  in  attacks  of  vertigo,  would  shout  out  ob- 
scene words,  then  raise  her  dress,  make  lascivious  move- 
ments, and  try  to  tear  open  her  undergarments. 

Eiernan  ("Alienist  and  Neurologist,"  January,  1884) 
reports  the  case  of  an  epileptic  who  always  had,  as  an 
aura,  the  vision  of  a  beautiful  woman  in  lascivious 
attitudes,  which  induced  ejaculation.  After  some  years, 
with  treatment  with  potassium  bromide,  the  vision  was 
changed  to  that  of  a  devil  attacking  him  with  a  pitchfork. 
The  instant  this  reached  him,  he  became  unconscious. 

The  same  author  speaks  of  a  very  respectable  man 
who  had,  two  or  three  times  a  year,  epileptic  attacks  of 
furor  and  dysthymia,  with  impulses  to  pederasty,  which 
lasted  a  week  or  two  ;  and  of  a  lady  who,  with  epilepsy  that 
came  on  during  the  climacterium,  had  sexual  desire  for  boys. 

Case  1 48.  W.,  of  good  heredity,  previously  healthy  ; 
before  and  after  the  attack,  sound  mentally,  quiet,  kind, 
temperate.  On  13th  April,  1877,  he  had  no  appetite.  On  the 
14th,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  and  children,  he  demanded 
coitus,  first  of  his  wife's  friend,  who  was  present,  then 
of  his  wife.  Taken  away,  he  had  an  epileptoid  attack  ; 
after  this  he  became  wildly  maniacal  and  destructive, 
threw  hot  water  on  those  that  tried  to  approach  him,  and 
threw  a  child  in  the  stove.  Then  he  soon  became  quiet, 
but  for  some  days  remained  confused,  and  finally  came 
to  himself  with  no  recollection  of  the  events  of  his  attack 
{Kowalewsky,  "  Jahrbiicher  f.  Psych.,"  1879). 


EPILEPSY.  455 

Another  case,  examined  by  Casper  ("  Klin.  Novellen," 
p.  267),  may  be  attributed  to  epilepsy  (latent).  A  respect- 
able man  attacked  four  women,  one  after  another,  in  the 
open  street  (one  before  two  witnessss),  and  violated  one 
of  them,  "  notwithstanding  that  his  young,  pretty  and 
healthy  wife  "  lived  hard  by. 

The  epileptic  significance  of  the  sexual  acts  in  the 
following  cases  is  unequivocal : — 

Case  1 49.  L.,  an  official,  aged  forty;  a  kind  husband 
and  father.  During  four  years  he  has  offended  public 
morals  twenty-five  times,  for  which  he  has  had  to  endure 
long  imprisonment. 

In  the  first  seven  complaints  he  was  accused  of  expos- 
ing his  genitals  to  girls  from  eleven  to  thirteen  years 
old,  while  passing  them  on  horseback,  and  calhng  their 
attention  by  obscene  words.  While  in  confinement,  he 
had  exposed  his  genitals  at  a  window  which  opened  on 
a  popular  street. 

L.'s  father  was  insane  ;  his  brother  was  once  met  on 
the  street  wearing  only  a  shirt.  During  his  military 
service  L.  had  had  two  attacks  of  severe  fainting.  Since 
1859  he  had  suffered  with  peculiar  attacks  of  vertigo,  at 
such  times  becoming  weak,  tremulous,  and  deathly  pale  ; 
it  grew  dark  before  his  eyes,  he  saw  bright  stars,  and  was 
forced  to  get  support  in  order  to  keep  upright.  After 
violent  attacks,  great  weakness,  profuse  sweating. 

Since  1861  he  had  been  very  irritable,  which,  respected 
though  he  was  as  an  official,  caused  him  much  trouble  in 
his  work.  His  wife  noticed  the  change  in  him.  He  had 
days  when  he  would  run  about  the  house  as  if  insane, 
holding  his  head  between  his  hands,  striking  the  wall,  and 
complaining  of  headache.  In  1864  he  fell  to  the  ground 
four  times,  lying  there  stiff,  with  eyes  open.  Confused 
states  of  consciousness  were  also  proved  to  have  occurred. 

L.  declared   that  he   had    not   the  slightest  remem- 


456  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

brance  of  the  crime  of  which  he  was  accused.  Observa- 
tion showed  further  and  more  violent  attacks  of  epileptic 
vertigo.  L.  was  not  sentenced.  In  1875  paretic  dementia 
developed  with  rapidly  fatal  results  {Westphal,  "  Arch.  f. 
Psych.,"  vii.,  p.  113). 

Case  150.  A  rich  man  of  twenty-six  had  lived  for 
a  year  with  a  girl  with  whom  he  was  very  much  in  love. 
He  cohabited  but  rarely,  but  was  never  perverse. 

Twice  during  the  year,  after  excessive  indulgence  in 
alcohol,  he  had  had  epileptic  attacks.  One  evening  after 
dinner,  at  which  he  had  taken  much  wine,  he  hurried  to 
the  house  of  his  mistress,  and  into  her  sleeping-apartment, 
although  the  servant  told  him  she  was  not  at  home. 
From  there  he  hastened  into  a  room  where  a  boy  of 
fourteen  was  sleeping,  and  began  to  violate  him.  At  the 
cry  of  the  child,  whose  prepuce  and  hand  he  had  injured, 
the  servant  hurried  to  them.  He  left  the  boy  and  raped 
the  maid  ;  after  that  he  went  to  bed  and  slept  twelve 
hours.  "When  he  awoke,  he  had  an  indistinct  remem- 
brance of  intoxication  and  coitus.  Thereafter  there  were 
repeated  epileptic  attacks  {Tarnowshy,  op.  cit.,  p.  52). 

Case  151.  X.,  of  high  social  position,  led  a  dissolute 
life  for  some  time,  and  had  epileptic  attacks.  He  be- 
came engaged.  On  his  wedding  day,  shortly  before  the 
ceremony,  he  appeared  on  his  brother's  arm  before  the 
assembled  guests.  When  he  came  before  his  bride,  he 
exposed  his  genitals  and  began  to  masturbate.  He  was 
at  once  taken  to  an  expert  in  mental  disease.  On  the 
way  he  constantly  masturbated,  and  for  some  days  was 
actuated  by  this  impulse,  which  gradually  decreased  in 
intensity.  After  this  paroxysm  the  patient  had  only  a 
confused  remembrance  of  the  events,  and  could  give  no 
explanation  of  his  acts  {Tarnotosky,  op.  cit,  p.  53). 

Case  1 52.    Z.,  aged  twenty-seven  ;  very  bad  heredity  ; 


EPILEPSY.  457 

epileptic.  He  violated  a  girl  of  eleven,  and  then  killed 
her.  He  lied  about  the  deed.  Absence  of  memory,  i.e., 
mental  confusion  at  the  time  of  the  crime,  was  not  proved. 
(Pugliese,   "  Arch,  di  Psich.,"'viii.,  p.  622). 

Case  1 53.  V.,  aged  sixty ;  physician ;  violated  chil- 
dren. Sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  two  years.  Dr. 
Marandon  later  on  proved  the  existence  of  epileptoid 
attacks  of  apprehensiveness,  dementia,  erotic  and  hypo- 
chondriacal delusions  and  occasional  attacks  of  fear  {Lacas- 
sagne,  "Lyon,  med.,"  1887,  No.  51). 

Case  154.  On  4th  August,  1878,  H.,  aged  about 
fifteen,  was  picking  gooseberries  with  several  httle  girls 
and  boys  as  her  companions.  Suddenly  she  threw  L., 
aged  ten,  to  the  ground  and  exposed  her,  and  ordered  A., 
aged  eight,  and  0.,  aged  five,  to  bring  about  conjunctio 
membrorum  with  the  girl,   and  they  obeyed. 

H.  had  a  good  character.  For  five  years  she  had  been 
subject  to  irritability,  headache,  vertigo  and  epileptic 
attacks.  Her  mental  and  physical  development  had  been 
arrested.  She  had  not  menstruated,  but  she  manifested 
menstrual  molimena.  Her  mother  is  suspected  to  be 
epileptic.  For  three  months  H.,  after  seizures,  had 
frequently  done  strange  things,  and  afterward  had  no 
remembrance  of  them. 

H.  seems  to  have  been  deflowered.  Mental  defect  is 
not  apparent  She  said  she  had  no  remembrance  of  the 
act  of  which  she  was  accused.  According  to  her  mother's 
testimony,  she  had  an  epileptic  attack  on  the  morning  of 
4th  August,  and  she  had  been,  on  that  account,  told  by  her 
mother  not  to  leave  the  bouse  (Pilrkhauer,  "Friedreich's 
Blatter  f.  ger.  Med.,"  1879,  H.  5). 

Case  155.  Immoral  acts  of  an  epileptic  in  states  of 
abnormal  uyiconsciousness. — T.,  revenue  collector ;  aged  fifty- 
two  ;   married.     He  is  charged  of  being  guilty  of  immo- 


458  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

rality  with  boys  for  the  past  seventeen  years,  by  practising 
masturbation  on  them,  and  by  inducing  them  to  carry  out 
the  act  on  himself.  The  accused,  a  respected  oiScer,  is 
overcome  by  the  terrible  crime  attributed  to  him,  and 
declares  that  he  knows  nothing  of  the  deeds  of  which 
he  is  accused.  His  mental  integrity  is  questionable. 
His  family  physician,  who  has  known  him  twenty 
years,  emphasises  his  peculiar,  retiring  disposition  and 
his  mercurial  moods.  His  wife  asserts  that  T.  once  tried 
to  throw  her  in  the  water,  and  that  he  sometimes  had 
outbreaks  in  which  he  tore  off  his  clothing,  and  tried  to 
throw  himself  out  of  window.  T.  knew  nothing  of  these 
attacks.  Other  witnesses  testified  to  strange  changes 
of  mood  and  peculiarities  of  character.  A  physician 
reports  the  observation  of  occasional  attacks  of  vertigo 
and  convulsions  in  him. 

T.'s  grandmother  was  insane  ;  his  father  was  affected 
with  chronic  alcoholism,  and  of  late  years  had  had  epilep- 
tiform attacks.  The  father's  brother  was  insane,  and  had 
killed  a  relative  while  in  a  delirious  state.  Another  uncle 
of  T.  had  killed  himself.  Of  T.'s  three  children,  one 
was  weak-minded,  another  cross-eyed,  and  the  third  was 
subject  to  convulsions.  The  accused  asserted  that  he  bad 
occasional  attacks  in  which  consciousness  was  so  reduced 
that  he  did  not  know  what  he  was  about.  These  attacks 
were  ushered  in  by  an  aura-like  pain  in  the  back  of  his 
neck.  He  was  then  impelled  to  go  out  in  the  air.  He 
did  not  know  where  he  went.  His  wife  had  perfectly 
satisfied  him  sexually.  For  eighteen  years  he  had  had 
chronic  eczema  (actual)  of  the  scrotum,  which  had  often 
caused  him  to  have  extraordinary  sexual  excitement. 
The  opinions  of  the  six  experts  were  contradictory  (sane, 
— attacks  of  latent  epilepsy)  ;  the  jury  disagreed,  and  he 
was  dismissed.  Dr.  Legrand  du  Saulle,  who  was  called  as 
an  expert  witness,  found  that,  until  his  twenty-second 
year,  T.  had  urinated  in  bed  from  ten  to  eighteen  times  a 
year.      After  that  time  the  enuresis  nocturna  had  ceased  ; 


EPILEPSY.  459 

but,  from  that  time,  states  of  mental  confusion,  lasting  from 
an  hour  to  a  day,  had  occurred  occasionally,  and  they  left 
the  patient  without  any  remembrance  of  them.  Soon  T. 
was  arrested  again  for  public  immorality,  and  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  fifteen  months.  In  prison  he  grew  sick, 
and  apparently  much  weaker  mentally.  For  this  reason 
he  was  pardoned,  but  the  mental  weakness  increased. 
T.  was  noticed  to  have  repeated  epileptoid  convulsions 
(tonic  convulsion  with  tremor  and  loss  of  consciousness) 
{Auzouy,  "  Annal.  med.  psychol.,  1874,  Nov.  ;  Legrand  du 
Saulle,  "  Etude  med.  legale,"  etc.,  p.  99). 

The  following  case  of  immoral  acts  with  children,  ob- 
served by  the  author  and  reported  in  "  Friedreich's  Blatter," 
will  serve  to  conclude  this  group,^  so  important  in  its  legal 
bearings.  It  is  the  more  important,  in  that  a  state  of 
unconsciousness  was  established  at  the  time  of  the  act, 
and  because,  for  allied  reasons,  the  facts  related  in  Latin 
show  how  a  complicated  and  refined  act  becomes  possible 
in  such  a  state  of  unconsciousness. 

Case  156.  P.,  aged  forty-nine;  married;  hospital 
beneficiary.  He  was  accused  of  having  committed  the 
following  terrible  acts  with  two  girls, — D.,  aged  ten,  and 
G.,  aged  nine, — whom  he  had  taken  to  his  work-shop  on 
25th  May,  1883. 

D.  testifies  :  "  I  was  in  the  meadow  with  G.  and  my 
sister  J.,  aged  three.  P.  called  us  into  his  shop  and 
fastened  the  door.  Tum  nos  exosculabatur,  linguam  in 
OS  meum  demittere  tentabat  faciemque  mihi  lambebat ; 
sustulit  me  in  gremium,  bracas  aperuit,  vestes  meas 
sublevavit,  digitis  me  in  genitalibus  titillabat  et  membro 
vulvam  meam  fricabat  ita  ut  humida  fierem.  When  I 
cried,  he  gave  me  twelve  kreuzers,   and   threatened  to 

^  Cf.  also  Liman,  "  Zweifelhafte  Geisteszustande,"  Fall  6;  Lasigtie, 
"Exhibitionists,  Union  med.,"  1877;  Ball  and  Chambard,  "Art.  Som- 
nambulisme"  ("  Diet,  des  scienc.  med.,"  1881). 


460  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

shoot  me  if  I  exposed  him.  At  last  he  tried  to  persuade 
me  to  come  again  the  next  day." 

G.  testified  :  "P.  nates  et  genitaha  D  . .  se  exosculatus, 
iisdem  me  conatibus  aggressus  est.  Deinde  filiolum 
quoque  tres  annos  natum  in  manus  acceptum  osculatus 
est  nudatumque  parti  suse  virih  appressit.  Postea  quae 
nobis  essent  nomina  interrogavit  ac  censuit,  genitalia 
D  .  .  se  meis  multo  esse  majora.  Quin  etiam  nos  impuHt, 
ut  membrum  suum  intueremur,  manibus  comprehendere- 
mus  et  videremus,  quantopere  id  esset  erectum." 

At  his  examination,  29th  May,  P.  said  he  had  but  an 
indistinct  recollection  of  having  fondled,  caressed  and 
made  presents  to  a  little  girl  a  short  time  before.  If  he 
had  done  anything  more,  it  must  have  been  in  an  irre- 
sponsible condition.  Besides,  he  had  suffered  for  years 
with  weakness  in  his  head  as  result  of  an  injury.  On 
22nd  June  he  knew  nothing  of  the  events  of  25th  May, 
and  nothing  of  his  examination  on  29th  May.  This 
amnesia  was  shown  also  on  cross-examination. 

P.  comes  of  a  family  affected  with  cerebral  disease ;  a 
brother  was  epileptic.  P.  was  formerly  a  drinker.  Years 
before  he  had  actually  received  an  injury  to  his  head. 
Since  then,  from  time  to  time,  he  has  had  attacks  of 
mental  disturbance,  introduced  by  moroseness,  irritability, 
tendency  to  alcoholic  excesses,  apprehension,  and  delu- 
sions of  persecution  sufficient  to  induce  threats  and  deeds 
of  violence.  At  the  same  time  he  would  have  auditory 
hypersesthesia,  vertigo,  headache  and  cerebral  conges- 
tion,— all  this,  with  great  mental  confusion  and  amnesia 
for  the  whole  period  of  the  attack,  which  would  sometimes 
last  for  weeks. 

During  the  intervals  he  was  subject  to  headache, 
which  started  from  the  seat  of  injury  on  the  head  (a 
small  scar  in  the  skin  over  the  right  temple),  which  was 
painful  on  pressure.  With  exacerbation  of  the  headache 
he  became  very  irritable,  morose  to  an  extent  that  in- 
clined him  to  suicide,  and  mentally  like  one  drunk.     In 


PEEIODICAL   INSANITY.  461 

1879,  while  in  such  a  state,  he  made  an  impulsive  attempt 
at  suicide,  of  which  he  afterward  had  no  remembrance. 
Soon  after  this,  being  sent  to  hospital,  he  gave  the 
impression  of  being  epileptic,  and  for  a  long  time  was 
treated  with  pot.  bromide.  At  the  end  of  1879  he  was 
taken  to  the  infirmary,  no  actual  epileptic  attack  having 
been  observed. 

During  his  lucid  intervals  he  was  a  virtuous,  indus- 
trious, good-natured  man,  and  had  never  shown  any 
sexual  excitement ;  and,  until  this  time,  never  sexual 
inclinations,  even  during  his  mental  confusion.  More- 
over, until  lately  he  had  lived  with  his  wife.  At  the  time 
of  the  criminal  act  he  had  shown  signs  of  an  approaching 
attack,  and  had  asked  the  physician  to  prescribe  pot. 
bromide. 

P.  asserted  that,  since  the  injury  to  his  head,  he  had 
been  intolerant  of  heat  and  alcohol,  which  immediately 
brought  on  headache  and  confusion.  The  medical  exami- 
nation proved  the  truth  of  his  assertions  about  mental 
weakness,  irritability  and  poor  sleep. 

If  pressure  were  made  at  the  seat  of  the  trauma,  P. 
became  congested,  irritable,  confused  and  trembled  all 
over ;  he  appeared  excited ;  consciousness  was  disturbed, 
and  remained  so  for  hours. 

At  times,  when  he  is  free  from  the  sensations  that 
start  from  the  scar,  he  seems  kind,  free,  willing  and  open, 
though  he  is  mentally  weak  and  cloudy.  P.  was  not 
sentenced  (vide  "Friedreich's  Blatter"  for  full  report). 

Periodical  Insanity. 

Just  as  in  cases  of  non-periodical  mania,  an  abnormal 
intensity  or  a  noticeable  prominence  of  the  sexual  sphere 
■js  very  often  manifested  in  the  periodical  attacks  {v.  infra, 
"Mania"). 

The  following  case,  reported  by  Scrvaes  ("Arch.  f. 
Psych."),  shows  that  it  then  may  also  be  perverted  : — 


462  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Case  157.  Catharine  W.,  aged  sixteen;  she  has 
not  yet  menstruated  ;  previously  healthy.  Father  very 
irascible. 

Seven  weeks  before  admission  (3rd  December,  1872), 
melancholic  depression  and  irritability.  27th  November, 
maniacal  outbreak,  lasting  two  days ;  thereafter,  melan- 
cholic.    6th  December,  normal  condition. 

24th  December  (twenty-eight  days  after  the  first 
maniacal  attack),  silent,  shy,  depressed.  27th  December, 
exaltation  (jolly,  laughing,  etc.),  with  violent  love  for  an 
attendant  (female).  31st  December,  suddenly  melan- 
cholic catalepsy,  which  disappeared  after  two  hours.  20th 
January,  1873,  new  attack  like  the  previous  one.  A  simi- 
lar one  on  18th  February,  with  traces  of  menses.  The 
patient  had  no  recollection  whatever  for  what  occurred  in 
the  paroxyms,  and  blushed  scarlet  with  astonishment  and 
shame  when  told  about  them. 

Thereafter  there  were  abortive  attacks,  which  entirely 
disappeared,  to  give  place  to  the  normal  mental  condition 
in  June. 

In  a  case  reported  by  Gock  ("Arch.  f.  Psych."  v.), 
which  was  probably  circular  insanity,  in  a  man  of  very 
bad  heredity,  during  the  stage  of  exaltation  there  was 
•manifestation  of  sexual  feeling  for  men.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  patient  thought  himself  a  girl,  and  it  is 
questionable  whether  the  sexual  inclination  was  induced 
by  the  delusion  or  by  an  antipathic  sexual  instinct. 

In  connection  with  these  cases  of  abnormal  manifesta- 
tion of  the  sexual  instinct  are  those  which,  as  a  symptoui 
of  mania,  manifest  an  abnormal  and  frequently  a  perverse 
sexual  instinct  in  an  impulsive  way,  analogous  to  dipso- 
mania, which  forms  the  nucleus  of  the  psychical  disturb- 
ance, while  in  the  intervals  the  sexual  instinct  is  neither' 
intense  nor  perverse. 

Quite  a  genuine  case  of  such  periodical  psychopathia 
sexualis,  connected  with  the  process  of  menstruation,  is 


PERIODICAL    INSANITY.  463 

the  following  reported  by  Anjd  ("  Arch.  f.  Psych."  xv., 
Hett  2)  :— 

Case  1 58.  A  quiet  lady,  near  the  climacteric.  Very 
bad  heredity.  In  her  youth  attacks  of  petit  mat.  Al- 
ways eccentric,  quick-tempered  ;  very  moral ;  childless 
marriage. 

Several  years  ago,  after  a  violent  emotional  disturb- 
ance, a  hystero-epileptic  attack,  with  post-epileptic  in- 
sanity of  several  weeks'  duration.  Thereafter  there  was 
sleeplessness  for  several  months.  Following  this,  there 
was  always  menstrual  insomnia,  and  the  impulse  to 
embrace  and  kiss  boys  of  ten,  and  fondle  their  genitals. 
During  this  excitement  there  was  no  desire  for  coitus  ; 
certainly  not  for  intercourse  with  adults. 

The  patient  often  speaks  openly  of  this  impulse,  and 
asks  to  be  watched,  as  she  is  not  to  be  trusted.  In  the 
intervals  she  anxiously  avoids  all  talk  of  it,  is  very  modest, 
and  in  nowise  passionate  sexually. 

With  reference  to  the  still  imperfectly  known  cases 
of  periodical  j)sijchopatliia  sexualis  of  this  kind,  Tarnowsky 
{op.  cit.,  p.  38)  has  made  valuable  contributions,  though 
his  cases  were  not  all  of  a  periodic  nature. 

Tarnowsky  reports  cases  where  married,  cultured  men, 
the  fathers  of  families,  were,  from  time  to  time,  compelled 
to  perform  the  most  terrible  sexual  acts,  while  during 
the  intervals  they  were  sexually  normal,  abhorred  their 
paroxysmal  sexual  acts,  and  shuddered  before  the  expec- 
tation of  their  repetition. 

If  a  new  paroxysm  came  on,  the  normal  sexual  instinct 
disappeared  ;  a  state  of  mental  excitement  arose  with 
insomnia,  and  thoughts  and  impulses  to  commit  the  per- 
verse sexual  acts,  with  anxious  confusion  and  an  increas- 
ing impulse  to  the  abhorred  indulgence.  In  this  state 
the  act  was  a  relief,  because  it  ended  the  condition.  The 
analogy  with  dipsomania  is  complete. 


4:64  PSYCHOPATIIIA    SEXUALIS. 

For  other  cases  (of  periodical  pederasty),  vide  'I'limov- 
shy,  op.  cit.,  p.  41.  The  case  there  reported,  on  page  40 
belongs  in  the  category  of  epilepsy. 

The  following  case,  reported  by  Anjdl  ("  Arch.  f. 
Psych,,"  XV.,  Heft  2),  is  one  of  the  most  typical  of  the 
convulsive-like  occurrence  of  sexual  excitement : — 

Case  159.  A  gentleman  of  high  social  position,  aged 
forty -five  ;  generally  respected  and  beloved  ;  heredity  good  ; 
very  moral ;  married  fifteen  years.  Previously  sexually 
normal ,  the  father  of  several  healthy  children,  and  living 
in  happy  matrimony  Eight  years  ago  he  had  a  sudden 
fright.  For  some  weeks  thereafter  he  had  a  feeling  of 
apprehension  and  cardiac  attacks.  Then  came  attacks, 
at  intervals  of  several  months  or  a  year,  of  what  the 
patient  called  his  "  moral  catarrh  ".  He  became  sleepless. 
After  three  days,  loss  of  appetite,  increasing  irritability, 
strange  appearance  ;  fixed  stare,  staring  into  space  ;  pale- 
ness, changing  with  redness  ;  tremor  of  the  fingers  ;  red, 
shining  eyes,  with  peculiar  glassy  expression  ;  and  violent, 
quick  manner  of  speech.  There  was  a  desire  for  girls  of 
from  five  to  ten  years,  even  for  his  own  daughters.  He 
would  beg  his  wife  to  guard  the  children.  For  days  at 
a  time,  while  in  this  state  he  would  shut  himself  in  his 
room.  Previously  he  was  compelled  to  pass  school-girls 
on  the  street,  and  he  found  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  exposing 
his  genitals  before  them,  by  actmg  as  if  about  to  urinate. 

For  fear  of  exposure,  he  shuts  himself  in  his  room, 
morose,  incapable  of  movement,  and  torn  by  feelings  of 
fear.  Consciousness  seems  to  be  undisturbed.  The  at- 
tacks last  from  eight  to  fourteen  days.  The  cause  of  their 
return  is  not  clear.  Improvement  is  sudden  ;  there  is 
great  desire  for  sleep,  and,  after  this  is  satisfied,  he  is 
well  again.  In  the  interval  there  is  nothing  abnormal, 
Anjel  assumes  an  epileptic  foundation,  and  considers  the 
attacks  to  be  the  psychical  equivalents  of  epileptic  con- 
vulsions. 


SATYEIASIS   AND   NYMPHOMANIA.  465 

IWania. 

.  With  the  general  excitation  that  here  exists  in  the 
psychical  organ,  the  sexual  sphere  is  likewise  often  impli- 
cated. In  maniacal  individuals  of  the  female  sex,  this  is 
the  rule.  In  certain  cases,  it  may  be  questionable  whether 
the  instinct,  which,  in  itself,  is  not  intensified,  is  simply 
recklessly  manifested,  or  whether  it  is  present  in  actual 
abnormal  intensity.  For  the  most  part,  the  latter  is  the 
true  assumption — certainly  so  where  sexual  delusions  and 
their  rehgious  equivalents  are  constantly  expressed.  In 
accordance  with  the  degrees  of  intensity  of  the  disease, 
the  intensified  instinct  is   expressed  in  different  forms. 

In  simple  maniacal  exaltation  in  men,  courting, 
frivolity,  and  lasciviousness  in  speech,  and  frequenting 
of  brothels,  are  observed  ;  in  women,  inclination  for  the 
society  of  men,  personal  adornment,  perfumes,  talk  of 
marriage  and  scandals,  suspicion  of  the  virtue  of  other 
women  ;  or  there  is  manifested  the  rehgious  equivalent — 
pilgrimages,  missionary  work,  desire  to  go  into  a  cloister 
or  to  become  the  servant  of  a  priest ;  and  in  this  case 
there  is  much  talk  about  innocence  and  virginity. 

At  the  height  of  mania  there  may  be  seen  invitations 
to  coitus,  exhibition,  obscenity,  great  excitation  at  sight 
of  women,  tendency  to  smear  the  person  with  saliva, 
urine,  and  even  faeces;  rehgio-sexual  delusions, —to  be 
under  the  protection  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  have  given 
birth  to  Christ,  etc. ;  open  onanism  and  pelvic  movements 
of  coitus. 

In  maniacal  men  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent 
shameless  masturbation   and  sexual   attacks  on  women. 

Satyriasis  and  Nymphomania. 

States  of  mental  excitement  in  which  an  abnormal 
intense  sexual  impulse  is  prominent  are  called  satyriasis 
(in  males)  and  nymphomania  or  uteromania  (in  women). 

30 


466  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Moreau  considers  these  cases  peculiar  to  themselves, 
but  he  is  certainly  in  error.  The  sexual  complexus  of 
symptoms  is  always  but  the  partial  manifestation  of  a 
general  psychosis  (mania,  hallucinatory  insanity  ?), 

The  essential  element  of  the  state  of  sexual  excitement 
is  a  condition  of  psychical  hypersesthesia  with  involve- 
ment of  the  sexual  sphere.  The  imagination  calls  up 
only  sexual  images,  which  may  lead  to  hallucinations, 
illusions  and  true  hallucinatory  delirium. 

The  most  indifferent  ideas  excite  sensual  association, 
and  the  lustful  colouring  of  the  ideas  and  apperceptions  is 
very  much  intensified. 

The  abnormal  state  of  consciousness  implicates  the 
whole-  course  of  feehng  and  desire,  and  is  accompanied  by 
general  physical  excitement  like  that  which  accompanies 
coitus  {v.  "Physiology").  Often  the  genitals  are  in  a 
constant  state  of  turgor  (priapism  in  males). 

The  man  affected  with  this  sexual  passion  seeks  to 
satisfy  his  desire  at  any  price,  and,  therefore,  becomes 
very  dangerous  to  women.  Faute  de  mieux,  he  practises 
onanism  or  sodomy.  The  nymphomaniacal  woman  seeks 
men  by  exhibition,  or  to  attract  them  by  her  sensual 
conduct;  at  the  sight  of  men  she  is  intensely  excited 
sexually,  and  satisfies  herself  by  masturbation  or  by  pelvic 
movements  of  coitus. 

Satyriasis  is  rare.  Nymphomania  is  more  frequently 
observed,  and  not  seldom  in  the  climacteric.  It  may 
occur  in  senility.  Abstinence,^  with  constant  excitation 
of  the  sexual  sphere  as  a  result  of  psychical  or  peripheral 
irritation  {pmrikis,  pudcndi  oxyuris,  etc.),  may  cause  these 
conditions,  but  probably  only  in  those  predisposed. 

The  assertion  that  it  may  also  result  from  poisoning 
by  cantharides  seems  to  depend  upon  confounding  it  with 
priapism.  The  primary  lustful  feeling  that  accompanies 
priapism  due  to  cantharides  soon  becomes  painful.     Saty- 

1  Cf.  the  interesting  cases  of  Marc-Ideler,  ii.,  p.  137  ;  Ideler,  "  Grund- 
riss  der  Seelenheilkunde,"  ii.,  pp.  488-92. 


HYSTERIA.  467 

riasis  and  nymphomania  are  acute  abnormal  psycho- 
sexual  states. 

There  are  also  cases  that,  not  without  reason,  might 
be  called  chronic  satyriasis  or  nymphomania.  To  these 
belong  the  men  who,  for  the  most  part  as  a  result  of 
abusus  veneris,  or  more  particularly  of  masturbation,  suffer 
with  neurasthenia  sexualis,  and  at  the  same  time  have  intense 
libido  sexualis.  The  imagination,  as  in  acute  cases,  is  in  a 
state  of  excitement,  and  the  mind  full  of  obscene  images  ; 
so  that  the  most  elevated  ideas  are  besmirched  with  the 
cynical  images  and  thoughts. 

The  thought  and  desire  of  such  men  are  solely  directed 
to  the  sexual  sphere ;  and  since  their  flesh  is  weak,  led  on 
by  their  fancy,  they  come  to  indulge  in  the  grossest  per- 
versions' of  the  sexual  act. 

Analogous  cases  in  women  may  be  called  chronic 
nymphomania.  They  naturally  lead  to  prostitution.  Le- 
grand  du  Saulle  ("La  folie,"  p.  510)  reports  interesting 
cases  which  apparently  are  genuine. 

Melancholia. 

The  thoughts  and  feelings  of  melancholiacs  are  not 
favourable  for  the  excitation  of  sexual  desires.  At  the 
same  time,  these  patients  sometimes  masturbate.  In  my 
experience  such  cases  have  always  been  hereditarily  pre- 
disposed and  previously  given  to  onanism.  The  act  did 
not  seem  to  be  so  much  due  to  a  lustful  desire  as  to  be 
induced  by  habit,  ennui,  anxiety  and  the  impulse  to  change 
temporarily  the  painful  mental  condition. 

Hysteria. 

In  this  neurosis  the  sexual  life  is  very  frequently 
abnormal ;  indeed,  always  in  predisposed  individuals. 
All  the  possible  anomalies  of  the  sexual  function  may 
occur  here,  with  sudden  changes  and  peculiar  activity  ; 


468  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

and,  on  an  hereditary  degenerate  basis  and  in  moral 
imbecility,  they  may  appear  in  the  most  perverse 
forms.  The  abnormal  change  and  inversion  of  the 
sexual  feeling  are  never  without  effect  upon  the  patient's 
disposition. 

The  following  case,  reported  by  Giraud,  is  one  of  this 
nature  worthy  of  repetition  : — 

Case  160.  Marianne  L.,  of  Bordeaux.  At  night, 
while  the  household  was  asleep  under  the  influence  of 
narcotics  which  she  had  administered,  she  had  given 
the  children  of  the  house  to  her  lover  for  sexual  enjoy- 
ment, and  made  them  witness  immoral  acts.  It  was 
found  that  L.  was  hysterical  (hemianaesthesia  and  con- 
vulsive attacks),  but  before  her  illness  she  had  been 
a  moral,  trustworthy  person.  Since  her  illness  she 
had  become  a  shameless  prostitute,  and  lost  all  moral 
sense. 

In  the  hysterical  the  sexual  sphere  is  often  abnorm- 
ally excited.  This  excitement  may  be  intermittent 
(menstrual?).  Shameless  prostitution,  even  in  married 
women,  may  result.  In  a  milder  form  the  sexual  impulse 
expresses  itself  in  onanism,  going  about  in  a  room  naked, 
smearing  the  person  with  urine  and  other  filthy  things, 
or  wearing  male  attire,  etc. 

Schille  ("  Klin.  Psychiatrie,"  1886,  p.  237),  finds  very 
frequently  an  abnormally  intense  sexual  impulse  "  which 
disposes  girls,  and  even  women  living  m  happy  marriage, 
to  become  Messalinas  ". 

The  author  cites  known  cases  in  which,  on  the  wed- 
ding-journey, attempts  at  flight  with  men  who  had  been 
accidentally  met  were  made  ;  and  respected  wives  who 
entered  into  liaisons,  and  sacrificed  everything  to  their 
insatiable  impulse. 

In  hysterical  insanity  the  abnormally  intense  sexual 
impulse  may  express  itself  in  delusions  of  jealousy,  un- 


PARANOIA.  469 

founded    accusations    against    men    for    immoral    acts,' 
hallucinations  of  coitus,^  etc. 

Occasionally  frigidity  may  occur,  with  absence  of  lust- 
ful feeling — due,  for  the  most  part,  to  genital  anaBsthesia. 

Paranoia. 

Abnormal  manifestations  in  the  sexual  sphere,  in  the 
various  forms  of  paranoia,  are  not  infrequent.  Many  of 
these  cases  are  developed  on  sexual  abuse  (masturbatic 
paranoia)  or  sexual  excitement ;  and,  according  to  experi- 
ence, in  individuals  psychically  degenerate,  with  other 
functional  signs  of  degeneracy,  the  sexual  sphere  is,  for 
the  most  part,  deeply  implicated. 

In  paranoia  religiosa  and  erotica  the  abnormally  intense 
and,  under  certain  circumstances,  perverse  sexual  instinct 
is  most  clearly  manifested.  In  the  first  variety,  however, 
the  condition  of  sexual  excitation  is  expressed  not  so  much 
in  a  direct  method  of  satisfaction  of  the  sexual  desires 
as  (there  are  exceptions)  in  platonic  love — in  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  a  person  of  the  opposite  sex  who  is  pleasing 
aesthetically.  Under  certain  circumstances,  the  enthusiasm 
is  for  an  imaginary  person,  a  portrait,  or  a  statue. 

A  love  for  the  opposite  sex  that  is  weak  and  purely 
mental  also,  often  has  its  basis  in  weakness  of  the  geni- 
tals due  to  long-continued  masturbation  ;  and,  under  the 
guise  of  virtuous  admiration  for  a  beloved  person,  great 
lasciviousness  and  sexual  perversion  are  often  concealed. 
Episodically,  especially  in  women,  violent  sexual  excite- 
ment may  occur  as  a  nymphomania. 

For  the  most  part,  paranoia  religiosa  rests  upon  sexual- 
ity which  manifests  itself  in  a  sexual  impulse  that  is  ab- 

^  Vide  case  of  Merlac,  in  the  author's  "Lehrb.  d.  ger.  Psychopathol.," 

2  Aufl.,  p.  322 ;  Morel,  "  Traitu  des  malad.  mentales,"  p.  687 ;  Legrand, 
"  La  folie,"  p.  337  ;  Process  La  Ronciere,  in  "  Annal.  d'hyg.,"  1  Seric,  iv. ; 

3  Serie,  xxii. 

2  The  incubus  in  the  witch-trials  of  the  middle  ages  depended  on 
them. 


470  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

normally  early  and  intense.  The  libido  finds  satisfaction 
in  masturbation  or  religious  enthusiasm,  the  object  of 
which  may  be  a  certain  minister,  saint,  etc. 

The  psycho-pathological  relations  between  the  sexual 
and  religious  domains  have  been  described  in  detail  on 
p.  10  et  seq. 

Apart  from  masturbation,  sexual  crimes  are  relatively 
frequent  in  religious  paranoia. 

Marc's  work  (p.  160)  contains  a  remarkable  example  of 
religious  insanity. 

Giraiid  ("Annal.  med.  psychoL")  has  reported  a  case 
of  immorality  with  a  little  girl  by  a  religious  paranoiac, 
aged  forty-three,  who  was  temporarily  erotic.  Here,  also, 
belongs  a  case  of  incest  {Liman,  '*  Vierteljahrsschr.  f.  ger. 
Med."). 

Case  161.  M.  impregnated  his  daughter.  His  wife, 
mother  of  eighteen  children,  and  herself  pregnant  by  her 
husband,  lodged  the  complaint.  M.  had  had  religious 
paranoia  for  two  years.  "It  was  revealed  to  me  that  I 
should  beget  the  Eternal  Son  with  my  daughter.  Then  a 
man  of  flesh  and  blood  would  arise  by  my  faith,  who 
would  be  1800  years  old.  He  would  be  a  bridge  between 
the  Old  and  New  Testament."  This  command,  which  be 
deemed  divine,  was  the  cause  of  his  insane  act. 

Sexual  acts  that  have  a  pathological  motive  sometimes 
occur  in  persecutory  paranoia. 

Case  162.  A  woman  of  thirty  had,  under  promise 
of  money  and  food,  enticed  a  boy  of  five,  who  played  near 
her,  handled  bis  genitals,  and  then  attempted  coitus.  She 
was  a  teacher,  who  had  been  betrayed  and  then  cast  off. 
Previously  moral,  for  some  time  she  had  given  herself  to 
prostitution.  The  explanation  of  her  immoral  change 
was  given,  when  it  was  found  that  she  had  various  delu- 
sions of  persecution,  and  thought  she  was  under  the  secret 


PARANOIA.  471 

influence  of  her  seducer,  who  impelled  her  to  sexual  acts. 
She  also  believed  that  the  boy  had  been  put  in  her  way 
by  her  seducer.  Coarse  sensuality  as  a  motive  for  her 
crime  came  less  into  consideration,  as  it  would  have  been 
easy  for  her  to  satisfy  sexual  desire  in  a  natural  way 
[Kilssner,  "  Berl.  klin.  Wochenschrift "). 

Cullerre  ("Perversions  sexuelles  chez  les  persecutes," 
in  "Annal.  medico-psychol.,"  March,  1886)  has  reported 
similar  cases, — the  case  of  a  patient  who,  suffering  with 
'paranoia  sexualis  pcrsecutoria,  tried  to  violate  his  sister, 
giving  as  a  reason  that  the  impulse  was  given  him  by 
Bonapartists. 

In  another  case  a  captain,  suffering  with  delusions  of 
persecution  by  electro-magnetism,  was  driven  to  ped- 
erasty,— a  thing  he  abhorred.  In  a  similar  case  the 
persecutor  impelled  to  onanism  and  pederasty. 


V.  PATHOLOGICAL  SEXUALITY  IN  ITS  LEGAL 
ASPECTS.' 

The  laws  of  all  civilised  nations  punish  those  who 
commit  perverse  sexual  acts.  Inasmuch  as  the  preserva- 
tion of  chastity  and  morals  is  one  of  the  most  important 
reasons  for  the  existence  of  the  commonwealth,  the  state 
cannot  be  too  careful,  as  a  protector  of  morality,  in  the 
struggle  against  sensuality.  This  contest  is  unequal ; 
because  only  a  certain  number  of  the  sexual  crimes  can 
be  legally  combated,  and  the  infractions  of  the  laws  by  so 
powerful  a  natural  instinct  can  be  but  little  influenced  by 
punishment.  It  also  lies  in  the  nature  of  the  sexual 
crimes  that  but  a  part  of  them  ever  reach  the  knowledge 
of  the  authorities.  Public  sentiment,  in  that  it  looks 
upon  them  as  disgraceful,  lends  much  aid. 

Criminal  statistics  prove  the  sad  fact  that  sexual 
crimes  are  progressively  increasing  in  our  modern  civili- 
sation.^ This  is  particularly  the  case  with  immoral  acts 
with  children  under  the  age  of  fourteen. 

The  morahst  sees  in  these  sad  facts  nothing  but  the 
decay  of  general  morality,  and  in  some  instances  comes 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  present  mildness  of  the  laws 
punishing  sexual  crimes,  in  comparison  with  their  severity 
in  past  centuries,  is  in  part  responsible  for  this. 

^  S.  Weisbrod,  "  Die  Sittlichkeitsverbrechen  vor  dem  Gesetz,"  Berlin, 
1891;  Dv.  Pasqnale  Pcnta,  "  1 -peYveYtimenti  sessuali  neiruomo,"  Napoli, 
1893;  Se?/(^<?Z,  "  Die  Beurtheilung  der  perversen  Sexualvergehen  in  foro," 
"  Vierteljahrsschr.  fiir  ger.  Med.,"  1893,  Heft  2;  Viazzi,  "  Sui  reati  ses- 
suali" ("Bibliobeca  antropologico-giuridica"). 

^  Cf.  Cas2?er,  "KUn.  Novellen";  Lombroso,  '' Ooltdanmier's  Archiv,' 
Bd.  XXX. ;  Oetlingcn,  "  Moralstatistik,"  p.  494. 

(472) 


PATHOLOGICAL   SEXUALITY   IN    ITS   LEGAL   ASPECTS.      473 

The  medical  investigator  is  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  this  manifestation  of  modern  social  life  stands  in 
relation  to  the  predominating  nervous  condition  of  later 
generations,  in  that  it  begets  defective  individuals,  excites 
the  sexual  instinct,  leads  to  sexual  abuse,  and,  with 
continuance  of  lasciviousness  associated  with  diminished 
sexual  power,  induces  perverse  sexual  acts. 

It  will  be  clearly  seen  from  what  follows  how  such  an 
opinion  is  justified,  especially  with  respect  of  the  increas- 
ing number  of  sexual  crimes  committed  on  children. 

It  is  at  once  evident,  from  what  has  gone  before,  that 
neuropathic,  and  even  psychopathic,  states  are  largely 
determinate  for  the  commission  of  sexual  crimes.  Here 
nothing  less  than  the  responsibility  of  many  of  the  men 
who  commit  such  crimes  is  called  in  question. 

Psychiatry  cannot  be  denied  the  credit  of  having  re- 
cognised and  proved  the  psycho-pathological  significance 
of  numerous  monstrous,  paradoxical  sexual  acts. 

Law  and  Jurisprudence  have  thus  far  given  but  little 
attention  to  the  facts  resulting  from  investigations  in 
psycho-pathology.  Law  is,  in  this,  opposed  to  Medicine, 
and  is  constantly  in  danger  of  passing  judgment  on  in- 
dividuals who,  in  the  hght  of  science,  are  not  responsible 
for  their  acts. 

Owing  to  this  superficial  treatment  of  acts  that  deeply 
concern  the  interests  and  welfare  of  society,  it  becomes 
very  easy  for  justice  to  treat  a  delinquent,  who  is  as 
dangerous  to  society  as  a  murderer  or  a  wild  beast,  as  a 
criminal,  and,  after  punishment,  release  him  to  prey  on 
society  again  ;  on  the  other  hand,  scientific  investigation 
shows  that  a  man  mentally  and  sexually  degenerate  ah 
origine,  and  therefore  irresponsible,  must  be  removed  from 
society  for  life,  but  not  as  a  punishment. 

A  judge  who  considers  only  the  crime,  and  not  its 
perpetrator,  is  always  in  danger  of  injuring  not  only  im- 
portant interests  of  society  (general  morality  and  safety), 
but  also  those  of  the  individual  (honour). 


474  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

In  no  domain  of  criminal  law  is  co-operation  of  judge 
and  medical  expert  so  much  to  be  desired  as  in  that  of 
sexual  delinquencies  ;  and  here  only  anthropological  and 
clinical  investigation  can  afford  light  and  knowledge. 

The  nature  of  the  act  can  never,  in  itself,  determine  a 
decision  as  to  whether  it  lies  within  the  limits  of  mental 
pathology,  or  within  the  bounds  of  mental  physiology. 
The  perverse  act  does  not  indicate  perversion  of  instinct.  At 
any  rate,  the  most  monstrous  and  most  perverse  sexual 
acts  have  been  committed  by  persons  of  sound  mind.  The 
perversion  of  feeling  must  be  shown  to  be  pathological.  This 
proof  is  to  be  obtained  by  learning  the  conditions  attend- 
ing its  development,  and  by  proving  it  to  be  part  of  an 
existing  general  neuropathic  or  psychopathic  condition. 

The  species  facti  is  important  ;  but  it,  too,  allows  only 
presumptions,  since  the  same  sexual  act,  according  as  it 
is  committed  by  an  epileptic,  paralytic,  or  a  man  of  sound 
mind,  takes  on  other  features  and  peculiarities,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  manner  in  which  it  is  done. 

Periodical  recurrence  of  the  act  under  identical  circum- 
stances, and  an  impulsive  manner  in  carrying  it  out, 
give  rise  to  weighty  presumptions  that  it  is  of  pathological 
significance.  The  decision,  however,  must  follow  after 
referring  the  act  to  its  psychological  motive  (abnormalities 
of  thought  and  feeling),  and  after  showing  this  elementary 
anomaly  to  be  but  one  symptom  of  a  general  neuropathic 
condition — either  an  arrest  of  mental  development,  or  a 
condition  of  psychical  degeneration,  or  a  psychosis. 

The  cases  discussed  in  the  portion  of  this  work  devoted 
to  general  and  special  pathology  will  certainly  be  useful 
to  the  medical  expert,  in  assisting  him  to  discover  the 
motive  of  the  act. 

To  obtain  the  facts  necessary  to  allow  a  decision  of 
the  question  whether  immorality  or  abnormality  occa- 
sioned the  act,  a  medico-legal  examination  is  required — an 
examination  which  is  made  according  to  the  rules  of 
science  ;  which  takes  account  of  both  the  past  history  of 


PATHOLOGICAL   SEXUALITY    IN    ITS    LEGAL   ASPECTS.       475 

the  individual  and  the  present  condition, — the  anthropo- 
logical and  clinical  data. 

The  proof  of  the  existence  of  an  original,  congenital 
anomaly  of  the  sexual  sphere  is  important,  and  points  to 
the  need  of  an  examination  in  the  direction  of  a  condition 
of  psychical  degeneration.  An  acquired  perversity,  to  be 
pathological,  must  be  found  to  depend  upon  a  neuropathic 
or  psychopathic  state. 

Practically,  paretic  dementia  and  epilepsy  must  first 
come  to  mind.  The  decision  concerning  responsibility 
will  depend  on  the  demonstration  of  the  existence  of  a 
psychopathic  state  in  the  individual  charged  with  a  sexual 
crime. 

This  is  indispensable,  to  avoid  the  danger  of  covering 
simple  immorality  with  the  cloak  of  disease. 

Psychopathic  states  may  lead  to  crimes  against  moral- 
ity, and  at  the  same  time  remove  the  conditions  necessary 
to  the  existence  of  responsibility,  under  the  following  cir- 
cumstances : — 

1.  To  oppose  the  normal  or  intensified  sexual  desire, 
there  may  be  no  moral  or  legal  notions,  owing  to  {a)  the 
fact  that  they  may  never  have  been  developed  (states  of 
congenital  mental  weakness)  ;  or  to  {h)  the  fact  that  they 
have  been  lost  (states  of  acquired  mental  weakness). 

2.  When  the  sexual  desire  is  increased  (states  of  psy- 
chical exaltation),  consciousness  simultaneously  clouded 
and  the  mental  mechanism  too  much  disturbed  to  allow 
the  opposing  ideas,  virtually  present,  to  exert  their  in- 
fluence. 

3.  When  the  sexual  instinct  is  perverse  (states  of 
psychical  degeneration).  It  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  so 
intensified  as  to  be  irresistible. 

Cases  of  sexual  delinquency  that  occur  outside  of  states 
of  mental  defect,  degeneration,  or  disease,  can  never  be 
excused  on  the  ground  of  irresponsibility. 

In  many  cases,  instead  of  an  abnormal  psychical  condi- 
tion, a  neurosis  (local  or  general)  is  found.     Inasmuch  as 


476  PSYCHOPATniA   SEXUALIS. 

the  transitions  from  a  neurosis  to  a  psychosis  are  easy, 
and  elementary  psychical  disturbances  are  frequent  in 
the  former,  and  constant  in  profound  perversion  of  the 
sexual  life,  the  neurotic  affection — e.g.,  impotence,  irritable 
weakness,  etc. — exerts  an  influence  on  the  motive  of  the 
incriminating  act ;  and  a  just  judge,  notwithstanding  the 
lack  of  legal  irresponsibility  due  to  mental  defect  or  dis- 
ease, will  recognise  the  circumstances  which  ameliorate 
the  heinousness  of  the  crime. 

For  various  reasons  the  practical  jurist  will,  in  all  cases 
of  sexual  crimes,  call  medical  experts  to  make  a  psychiatric 
examination. 

To  be  sure,  his  own  conscience  and  judgment  must  be 
the  guides  when  necessity  makes  them  his  only  reliance. 
Under  the  following  circumstances  indices  are  given  which 
ooint  to  a  pathological  condition  : — 

The  accused  is  senile.  The  sexual  crime  is  commit- 
ted openly,  with  remarkable  cynicism.  The  manner  of 
obtaining  sexual  satisfaction  is  silly  (exhibition),  or  cruel 
(mutilation  or  murder),  or  perverse  (necrophilia,  etc.). 

From  what  experience  teaches,  it  may  be  said  that, 
among  the  sexual  acts  that  occur,  rape,  mutilation,  peder- 
asty, amor  lesbicus,  and  bestiality  may  have  a  psycho- 
pathological  basis. 

In  case  of  lust-murder — in  as  far  as  its  ulterior  object 
goes  beyond  the  murder  itself — and  likewise  in  cases  of 
mutilation  of  corpses,  psychopathic  conditions  are  probable. 

Exhibition  and  mutual  ma^turlxition  seem  to  indicate 
the  probable  existence  of  pathological  conditions.  Mas- 
turbation of  another  and  passive  onanism  may  occur  in 
connection  with  senile  dementia  and  inverted  sexual  feel- 
ing, but  also  with  mere  sensuahty, 

Cimnilinyus  and  fcllare  {j^cncm  in  os  muUeris  arrigere) 
have  not  thus  far  been  shown  to  depend  upon  psycho- 
pathological  conditions. 

These  horrible  sexual  acts  seem  to  be  committed  only 
by  sensual  men  who  have  become  satiated  or  impotent 


OFFENCE    AGAINST   MOEALITT.  477 

from  excessive  indulgence  in  a  normal  way.  Pcedicatio 
mulierum  does  not  seem  to  be  psychopathic,  but  rather  a 
practice  of  married  men  of  low  morality,  who  wish  to 
prevent  pregnancy  ;  and  of  satiated  cynics  in  non-marital 
sexual  indulgence. 

The  practical  importance  of  the  subject  makes  it  neces- 
sary that  the  sexual  acts  threatened  with  punishment  as 
sexual  crimes  be  considered  by  jurists  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  medico-legal  expert.  Thus  there  is  an  advantage 
gained,  in  that  the  psycho-pathological  acts,  according  to 
circumstances,  are  placed  in  the  right  Hght  by  comparison 
with  analogous  acts  that  fall  within  the  domain  of  physio- 
logical psychology. 

1.  Offence  Against  Morality  in  the  Form  of  Exhibition. ^ 

(Aiistrian  Statutes,  §  516 ;  Abridgment,  §  195.    German  Statutes,  §  183.) 

In  man's  present  condition  of  civilisation,  modesty  is 
a  characteristic  and  motive  so  firmly  fixed  by  centuries 
of  education  that  presumption  of  a  psycho-pathological 
element  necessarily  arises  when  public  decency  is  coarsely 
offended. 

The  presumption  is  justifiable  that  an  individual  who 
has  in  this  way  offended  public  decency  and  his  own  self- 
respect  was  incapable  of  (idiots)  or  had  lost  the  feehngs  of 
morality  (states  of  acquired  mental  weakness)  ;  or  that  he 
acte&  while  in  a  clouded  state  of  consciousness  (transitory 
insanity,  states  of  partial  consciousness). 

A  very  distinctive  act  which  belongs  here  is  that  of 
exhibition  (exposure). 

The  cases  thus  far  recorded  are  exclusively  those  of 
men  who  ostentatiously  expose  their  genitals  to  persons 
of  the  opposite  sex,  whom  in  some  instances  they  even 
pursue,  without,  however,  becoming  aggressive. 

1  Boissier  et  Lachaux,  "  Perversions  sexuelles  a  forme  obs''dante," 
"Archives  de  Neurologie,"  1893,  October;  Sch'd/cr,  "  Vierteljahrsschr.  f. 
gcrichtl.  Med.,"  3  Folge,  x.,  1. 


478  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

The  silly  manner  of  this  sexual  activity,  or  really 
sexual  demonstration,  points  to  intellectual  and  moral 
weakness;  or,  at  least,  to  temporary  inhibition  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  functions,  with  excitation  of  libido 
dependent  upon  a  decided  disturbance  of  consciousness 
(abnormal  unconsciousness,  mental  confusion),  and  at 
the  same  time  calls  the  virihty  of  these  individuals  in 
question.  Thus  there  are  various  categories  of  exhibi- 
tionists. 

The  first  category  includes  acquired  states  of  mental 
weakness  in  which,  owing  to  the  causative  cerebral  (or 
spinal)  disease,  consciousness  is  clouded,  and  the  ethical 
and  intellectual  functions  are  interfered  with ;  and  in 
which  there  can  be  no  resistance  made  to  a  sexual  desire 
that  has  either  always  been  intense  or  that  has  been 
intensified  by  the  disease-process.  At  the  same  time 
impotence  exists,  and  no  longer  permits  expression  of  the 
sexual  instinct  in  violent  acts  (rape),  but  only  in  acts  that 
are  silly. 

The  majority  of  reported  cases*  fall  in  this  category 
They  are  those  of  individuals  afflicted  with  senile  demen- 
tia, paretic  dementia,  or  mental  defects  due  to  alcoholism, 
epilepsy,  etc. 

Case  163.  Z.,  high  official,  aged  sixty;  widower; 
father  of  a  family.  He  gave  offence  in  that,  during 
fourteen  days,  he  had  repeatedly  exposed  his  genitals  at 
his  window,  to  a  girl  of  eight  years  who  lived  opposite 
him.  After  a  few  months,  under  hke  circumstances,  this 
man  repeated  his  indecent  act.  At  his  examination  he 
acknowledged  the  depravity  of  his  action,  and  could  give 
no  excuse  for  it.  Death,  a  year  later,  due  to  cerebral 
disease  (Lasegtie,  op.  cit.). 

^Lasdgue,  "Union  M^dicale,"  1877,  May;  Laugier,  "Annal  d'hygiene 
publ.,"  1878,  No.  106;  Pelanda,  "  Pornopatlis,"  "Archivio  di  Psichiatria," 
viii. ;  Schucliardt,  "  Zeitschr.  f.  Medicinalbeamte,"  1890,  Heft  6. 


OFFENCE    AGAINST    MORALITY.  479 

Case  164.  Z.,  aged  seventy-eight;  seaman.  He 
had  repeatedly  exhibited  his  genitals  on  children's  play- 
grounds and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  girls'  schools.  This 
was  the  only  way  in  which  he  was  active  sexually.  He 
was  married,  and  the  father  of  ten  children.  Twelve 
years  previously  he  had  suffered  a  severe  head-injury,  which 
left  a  deep  scar,  indenting  the  bone.  Pressure  on  this 
scar  caused  pain ;  at  the  same  time  his  face  would  flush, 
his  expression  become  fixed,  and  he  would  grow  som- 
nolent, with  convulsive  movements  in  the  right  upper 
extremity  (apparently  epileptoid  state  in  connection  with 
cortical  disease).  Moreover,  there  was  senile  dementia 
and  advanced  senium.  It  is  not  reported  whether  the 
exhibition  coincided  with  epileptoid  attacks  or  not. 
Senile  dementia  proved  ;  pardoned  (Dr.  Schuchardt,  op.  cit.). 

Pelanda  (op.  cit.)  has  reported  a  number  of  cases  of  this 
kind : — 

1.  Paralytic,  aged  sixty.  At  the  age  of  fifty-eight  he 
began  to  exhibit  himself  to  women  and  children.  In  the 
asylum  at  Verona,  for  a  long  time  thereafter,  he  was 
lascivious,  and  also  attempted  fellatio. 

2.  A  drinker,  aged  sixty-six,  suffering  with  folie  cir- 
culaire.  His  exhibition  was  first  noticed  in  church  durinsr 
divine  service.    His  brother  was  likewise  an  exhibitionist. 

3.  A  drinker,  predisposed,  aged  forty-nine.  He  was 
always  very  excitable  sexually ;  in  an  asylum  on  account 
of  chronic  alcoholism.  He  exhibited  himself  whenever  he 
saw  a  woman. 

4.  A  man,  aged  sixty-four  ;  married  ;  father  of  fourteen 
children.  Great  predisposition.  Kachitic,  microcephalic 
head.  For  years  he  had  been  an  exhibitionist,  in  spite  of 
repeated  punishment. 

Case  165.  X.,  merchant,  born  in  1833;  single.  He 
had   repeatedly  exhibited    himself   to   children,    or   even 


480  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

urinated  at  the  same  time  ;  once,  under  these  circum- 
stances, he  had  kissed  a  little  girl.  Twenty  years  pre- 
viously X.  had  had  a  severe  attack  of  mental  disease, 
lasting  two  years,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  had  an 
apoplectic  attack.  Later,  after  loss  of  his  fortune,  he 
gave  himself  to  drink,  and  of  late  years  had  often  appeared 
absent-minded.  His  condition  was  that  of  alcoholism, 
senium  prcBcox  and  mental  weakness  Penis  small ;  phi- 
mosis ;  testicles  atrophic.  Proof  of  mental  disease ;  par- 
doned (Dr.  Schiochardt,  op.  cit.). 

Such  cases  recall  the  lasciviousness  of  youthful,  sexu- 
ally excited  persons  that  are  still  more  or  less  boyish  ; 
but  also  that  of  man}'  mature  cynics  of  low  morality,  who 
find  pleasure  in  defiling  the  walls  of  public  closets,  etc., 
with  drawings  of  male  and  female  genitals, — a  kind  of 
ideal  exhibition  which,  however,  is  still  widely  separated 
from  actual  exhibition. 

Another  category  of  exhibitionists  is  made  up  of  epilep- 
tics.^ This  category  is  essentially  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  foregoing,  because  a  conscious  motive  for  the  exhibition 
is  wanting ;  and  it  appears  much  more  like  an  impulsive 
act  which,  without  any  consideration  of  external  circum- 
stances, is  perform  d  as  if  it  were  an  abnormal  organic 
necessity. 

At  the  time  of  the  act  there  is  always  a  state  of  im- 
perfect consciousness  ;  and  thus  is  explained  the  fact  that 
the  unfortunate  individual,  without  consciousness  of  the 
meaning  of  his  act,  or,  at  least,  without  cynicism,  does  it 
in  obedience  to  a  blind  impulse.  On  regaining  conscious- 
ness, he  regrets  and  abhors  it  if  there  is  not  permanent 
mental  weakness. 

The  prime  motive  in  this  state  of  imperfect  conscious- 
ness, as  with  other  impulsive  acts,  is  a  feehng  of  appre- 
hensive oppression.     If  a  sexual  feeling  become  associated 

1  Instructive  case  reported  by  i\Lyrselli,  "  Bolletiuo  della  R.  Accademia 
medica  di  Genova,"  vol.  ix.  (Ib9ij,  fasc.  1. 


OFFENCE    AGAINST    MORALITY.  481 

with  it,  then  the  ideas  are  given  a  certain  direction  in  the 
sense  of  a  corresponding  (sexual)  act. 

How  sexual  ideas  very  easily  arise  temporarily  in  epilep- 
tics may  be  understood  from  the  discussion  on  pp.  453-461. 

If,  however,  such  an  association  has  once  been  formed  ; 
if  a  particular  act  has  taken  place  in  an  attack — it  is  the 
more  easily  repeated  in  every  subsequent  attack  ;  for,  so 
to  speak,  a  known  track  has  been  estabhshed  in  the  path 
of  motivity. 

The  feeling  of  anxiety,  with  the  state  of  imperfect  con- 
sciousness, causes  the  associated  sexual  impulse  to  appear 
as  a  command — an  inner  force,  which  is  acted  upon  in 
a  purely  impulsive  manner  and  in  a  state  of  absolute 
irresponsibihty. 

Case  166.  K.,  a  subordinate  official,  aged  twenty- 
nine  ;  of  neuropathic  family  ;  living  in  happy  marriage  ; 
father  of  one  child.  He  has  repeatedly,  especially  at  dusk, 
exhibited  himself  to  servant-girls.  K.  is  tall,  slim,  pale, 
nervous  and  hasty  in  manner.  There  is  imperfect  memory 
of  the  crimes.  Since  childhood  there  have  been  frequent 
severe  congestive  attacks,  with  intense  flushing  of  the 
face,  a  rapid,  tense  pulse,  and  a  fixed,  absent  stare.  At 
the  same  time  there  were,  now  and  then,  confusion  and 
vertigo.  In  this  (epileptic)  exceptional  state  K.  would 
answer  only  after  repeated  questioning,  and  then  it  was  as 
if  he  were  waking  from  a  dream.  K.  states  that  he  has  al- 
ways felt  excited  and  restless  for  some  hours  before  his 
criminal  acts,  and  experienced  a  feeling  of  fear,  with 
oppression,  and  congestion  of  the  head.  In  this  condition 
he  had  often  been  giddy,  and  experienced  an  indistinct 
feehng  of  sexual  excitement.  At  the  height  of  such  states 
he  had  left  the  house,  without  any  purpose  in  view,  and 
exposed  his  genitals  anywhere.  When  he  had  reached 
home  again,  he  had  had  but  a  dreamy  remembrance  of 
what  had  occurrred,  and  felt  very  weak  and  depressed. 
It  is  also  remarkable  that,  while  exhibiting  his  genitals, 

Ox 


482  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

he  had  used  Hghted  matches  to  make  them  visible.  The 
opinion  was  to  the  effect  that  the  criminal  acts  depended 
upon  epilepsy,  and  were  imperative  impulses  ;  but  he  was, 
nevertheless,  sentenced,  wnth  the  assumption  of  extenuat- 
ing circumstances  (Dr.  Schuchardt,  op.  cit.). 

Case  167.  L.,  aged  thirty-nine;  single;  tailor.  His 
father  was  probably  a  drinker ;  he  had  two  epileptic 
brothers,  one  of  whom  was  insane.  The  patient  himself 
has  slight  epileptic  attacks,  and  from  time  to  time  states 
of  imperfect  consciousness,  in  which  he  runs  about  aim- 
lessly, and  thereafter  does  not  know  where  he  has  been. 
He  was  considered  a  moral  man,  but  he  is  now  accused 
of  having  exhibited  and  played  with  his  genitals  in  a 
strange  house  five  or  six  times.  His  remembrance  of 
these  acts  was  very  imperfect. 

On  account  of  repeated  desertion  from  the  army  (pro- 
bably likewise  in  epileptic  states  of  imperfect  conscious- 
ness), L.  had  been  severely  punished.  In  imprisonment 
he  became  insane  with  "  epileptic  insanity,"  was  sent  to 
the  Charite,  and  from  there  discharged  "  cured  ".  As  far 
as  the  criminal  acts  were  concerned,  cynicism  and  wanton- 
ness could  be  excluded.  That  they  were  committed  in  a 
state  of  imperfect  consciousness  is  probable  from  the  fact 
among  other  things,  that  to  the  policeman  who  arrested 
him,  the  "  imbecile  "  appeared  to  be  in  a  remarkably 
cloudy  state  of  mental  consciousness  (Liman,  "  Viertel- 
jahrsschrift  f.  ger.  Med.,"  N.  F.  xxxviii.,  Heft  2.). 

Case  168.  L.,  aged  thirty-seven.  From  15th  October 
to  2nd  November,  he  had  many  times  given  offence  by 
exhibiting  himself  to  girls  in  daylight  in  the  open  street, 
and  even  in  schools,  into  which  he  forced  himself.  It 
happened  occasionally  that  he  wanted  the  girls  to  perform 
manustupration  or  allow  coitus,  and,  when  refused,  he 
performed  masturbation  before  them.  In  G.,  in  a  public- 
house,  he  rapped  with  his  exposed  penis  on  the  window 


OFFENCE  AGAINST  MORALITY.  483 

SO  that  the  children  and  servant-girls  in  the  kitchen  were 
forced  to  see  it. 

After  his  arrest  it  was  ascertained  that  since  1876  L. 
had  very  frequently  caused  trouble  by  exhibitions,  but 
had  always  escaped  punishment,  owing  to  the  demonstra- 
tion of  mental  disease  by  physicians.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  had  been  punished  for  desertion  and  theft  in  the  army> 
and,  later,  once,  as  a  civilian,  for  stealing  cigars.  L.  had 
repeatedly  been  in  asylums  on  account  of  insanity  (at- 
tacks of  insanity  ?).  Besides,  he  was  often  remarkable  on 
account  of  his  changeable,  quarrelsome  character,  occa- 
sional excitement  and  inconstancy. 

L.'s  brother  died  of  paralysis.  He  himself  presents 
no  degenerative  signs;  no  epileptic  antecedents.  At  the 
time  of  observation  he  is  neither  insane  nor  mentally 
weakened. 

He  behaves  himself  very  well,  and  expresses  great 
regret  for  his  sexual  crimes,  which  he  explains  in  this 
wise :  though  not  a  drinker,  he  occasionally  has  an  im- 
pulse to  drink.  Soon  after  beginning,  congestion  of  the 
head,  vertigo,  restlessness,  anxiety  and  oppression  come 
on.  He  then  passes  into  a  dreamy  state.  An  irresistible 
impulse  now  forces  him  to  expose  himself ;  and  he  then 
experiences  a  feeling  of  relief  and  breathes  more  easily. 
"When  he  has  once  exposed  himself,  he  knows  nothing 
more  of  what  he  does.  As  precursors  of  such  attacks,  he 
had  often,  a  short  time  before,  had  flames  before  the  eyes 
and  vertigo.  For  the  time  of  his  clouded  state  of  con- 
sciousness he  had  but  an  obscure,  dreamy  memory. 

It  was  only  after  a  time  that  sexual  ideas  and  impulses 
had  become  associated  with  these  apprehensive,  cloudy 
states  of  consciousness.  Years  ago,  in  such  states,  with- 
out motive  and  with  great  danger,  he  had  deserted ;  once 
he  had  jumped  from  a  third-storey  window ;  on  another 
occasion  he  had  left  a, good  position  to  wander  about 
aimlessly  in  a  neighbouring  country,  where  he  was  at 
once  arrested  for  exhibition. 


484  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

When,  outside  of  his  abnormal  periods;,  L.  once  became 
intoxicated,  there  was  no  exhibition.  In  the  hicid  state 
his  sexual  feeling  and  intercourse  are  perfectly  normal 
(Dr.  Hotzen,  "Friedreich's  Blatter,"  1890,  Heft  6).  For 
other  instances,  vide  cases  149,  151. 

A  clinical  group  that  very  nearly  approaches  the  epi- 
leptic exhibitionists  is  made  up  of  certain  neurasthenic 
individuals,  in  whom,  likewise,  there  may  occur  attacks 
(epileptoid  ?)  of  imperfect  consciousness  ^  in  connection 
with  a  feeling  of  apprehensive  oppression ;  and  with  this 
sexual  impulses  may  be  associated,  resulting  in  acts  of 
exhibition  having  an  impulsive  character. 

Case  169.  Dr.  S.,  academic  teacher,  had  aroused 
public  indignation  by  being  seen  repeatedly  running  about 
in  the  Zoological  Garden  at  Berlin,  before  ladies  and  chil- 
dren, with  his  genitals  hanging  out.  S.  admitted  this, 
but  denied  all  thought  or  consciousness  of  causing  public 
offence,  and  excused  himself  by  saying  that  his  running 
about  with  exposed  genitals  afforded  him  relief  from 
nervous  excitement.  Mother's  father  was  insane,  and 
died  by  suicide  ;  his  mother  was  constitutionally  neuro- 
pathic, a  somnambulist,  and  had  been  temporarily  insane. 
The  culprit  was  neuropathic,  had  been  a  somnambulist, 
and  had  had  continuous  aversion  to  sexual  intercourse 
with  females.  In  his  youth  he  practised  onanism.  He 
was  a  neurasthenic  man,  shy,  torpid  and  easily  became 
embarrassed  and  confused.  He  was  sexually  always  much 
excited.  Frequently  he  dreamed  that  he  was  running 
about  with  exposed  genitals,  or  that,  dressed  only  in  a 
shirt,  he  hung  from  a  horizontal  bar  with  his  head  down- 
ward, so  that  the  shirt  fell  down,  exposing  his  erected 
penis.  His  dreams  would  induce  pollution,  and  he  would 
then  have  rest  for  a  few  days  or  an  entire  week. 

1  Gf.  V.  Krafft,  "  Ueber  trarisitorisches  Irresein  bei  Neurasthenischen," 
"  Irrenfreund,"  1883,  No.  8;  and  "  Wiener  Kliu.  Wocheuschr.,"  1891,  No.  50. 


OFFENCE   AGAINST   MORALITY.  485 

In  his  waking  state  also  the  impulse  would  often 
come  upon  him,  just  as  in  his  dreams,  to  run  about  with 
exposed  genitals.  As  he  was  about  to  expose  himself,  he 
would  become  very  hot,  and  then  he  would  run  aimlessly 
about.  The  member  would  become  moist  with  secretion, 
but  pollution  was  never  induced.  Finally,  when  it  had 
become  flaccid,  he  would  put  it  up,  and  then  come  to 
himself,  glad  if  no  one  had  seen  him.  In  such  conditions 
of  excitement  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  dream ;  as  if  intoxicated. 
He  bad  never  had  the  intention  to  offend  women.  S.  was 
not  epileptic.  His  declarations  had  the  impress  of  truth. 
He  had  actually  never  followed  or  spoken  to  women  while 
in  this  condition.  Frivolity  and  coarseness  were  excluded. 
No  doubt  S.'s  act  was  due  to  pathological  sensation  and 
idea,  and  S.  was  in  a  condition  of  pathological  disturbance 
of  mental  action  at  the  time  of  the  commission  of  his  acts 
(Liman,  "  Vierteljahrsschrift  fiir  gerichtel.  Med.,"  N.  F. 
XXX.  viii.,  Heft  2). 

Case  1 70.  X.,  aged  thirty-eight ;  married  ;  father  of 
one  child.  Always  sullen  and  silent.  Suffers  frequently 
with  headache.  Very  neurasthenic,  though  not  insane. 
He  is  troubled  much  at  night  by  pollutions.  He  has 
repeatedly  followed  shop-girls,  for  whom  he  had  lain  in 
wait,  exposing  and  handhng  his  genitals.  In  one  case  he 
even  followed  a  girlinto  a  shop  (Trochon,  "Arch,  de  I'an- 
thropologie  criminelle,"  iii.,  p.  256). 

In  the  following  case  the  exhibition  seems  subsidiary 
to  the  impulsive  desire  to  satisfy  sudden,  intense  libido  by 
means  of  masturbation  : — 

Case  171.  E.,  coachman,  aged  forty-nine;  Vienna; 
married  since  1866;  childless.  Father  neuropathic  and 
given  to  sexual  excesses ;  died  of  cerebral  disease.  He 
presents  no  degenerative  signs. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  suffered  a  severe  concus- 


486  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

sion  by  falling  from  a  height.  Up  to  that  time  the  vita 
sexualis  had  been  normal.  Since  then,  however,  every 
three  or  four  months  he  has  been  seized  with  very  painful 
sexual  excitement,  accompanied  by  an  intense  desire  to 
masturbate.  A  feeling  of  weariness  and  discomfort,  with 
a  desire  for  alcoholic  indulgence,  precedes  this.  In  the 
intervals  he  is  sexually  cold,  and  has  but  very  infrequent 
desire  for  his  wife,  who,  moreover,  for  five  years  has  been 
sick  and  incapable  of  cohabitation. 

He  gives  the  assurance  that,  as  a  young  man,  he  never 
masturbated,  and  that,  in  the  intervals  between  his  attacks, 
he  has  never  thought  of  satisfying  himself  sexually  in  this 
way. 

The  impulse  to  masturbate  during  the  attack  is  always 
excited  by  certain  feminine  charms — short  cloak,  pretty 
foot  and  ankle,  elegant  appearance.  Age  makes  no  dif- 
ference ;  even  little  girls  excite  him.  The  impulse  is 
sudden  and  unconquerable.  B.  describes  the  situation  and 
act  as  characteristically  impulsive.  He  had  often  tried  to 
resist  it ;  but  then  he  would  grow  hot,  terribly  frightened, 
his  head  would  burn,  and  he  would  seem  to  be  in  a  fog ; 
but  he  never  lost  consciousness.  At  the  same  time  he 
would  have  violent,  darting  pain  in  the  testicles  and  sper- 
matic cords.  He  regretted  it,  but  had  to  confess  that  the 
impulse  was  stronger  than  his  will.  In  such  a  situation 
it  forced  him  to  masturbate,  no  matter  where  he  might 
be.  After  ejaculation  he  would  become  calm,  and  regain 
his  self-control.  He  regarded  it  as  a  terrible  affliction. 
Defence  shows  that  E.  has  been  punished  six  times  for 
similar  offences — exhibition  and  masturbation  in  the  open 
street.  Although  an  examination  into  his  mental  condi- 
tion by  experts  was  demanded  by  his  counsel,  the  court 
refused  it  on  the  ground  that  the  proceedings  had  raised 
no  doubt  as  to  his  responsibility. 

On  4th  November,  1889,  E.,  while  in  his  worst  condi- 
tion, happened  to  be  in  the  street  as  a  crowd  of  school- 
girls went  by.    This  awakened  his  unconquerable  impulse. 


OFFENCE   AGAINST   MORALITY.  487 

There  was  not  time  to  run  to  a  closet,  he  was  too  excited. 
There  was  immediate  exhibition,  masturbation  in  front  of 
a  house — great  scandal  and  immediate  arrest.  R.  is  not 
weak-minded,  and  has  no  ethical  defect.  He  bemoans 
his  fate,  deeply  regrets  his  act,  and  fears  new  attacks. 
He  regards  his  condition  as  abnormal — as  a  fate  against 
which  he  is  powerless. 

He  thinks  himself  still  virile.  Penis  abnormally  large. 
Cremasteric  reflex  present  ;  patellar  reflex  increased. 
Weakness  of  the  sphincter  of  the  bladder,  that  has  existed 
for  some  years.     Various  neurasthenic  difficulties. 

The  opinion  showed  that  R.  was  subject  to  the  influ- 
ence of  abnormal  conditions,  and  had  acted  impulsively. 
Patient  was  sent  to  an  asylum,  from  which  he  was 
discharged  after  a  few  months. 

In  the  foregoing  case  the  important  point,  clinically, 
hes  not  in  the  neurosis  that  is  present,  but  rather  in  the 
impulsive  character  of  the  act  (exhibition  dependent  on 
masturbation). 

With  the  enumeration  of  the  categories  of  imbeciles, 
of  mentally  weakened  individuals,  and  of  the  exhibitionists 
that  are  in  a  neurotic  (epileptic  or  neurasthenic)  state  of 
benumbed  consciousness,  apparently  the  clinical  and  for- 
ensic side  of  this  phenomenon  is  still  uiiexhausted  ;  in 
addition  to  these,  there  is  another  class,  the  represent- 
atives of  which,  owing  to  deep  hereditary  taint  {hereditary 
degenerative  neurosis  ?),  are  impelled  to  periodical  and  very 
impulsive  exhibition. 

With  reference  to  these  conditions  of  psychopathia 
sexualis  periodica  (cf.  "  Periodical  Insanity,")  in  which  the 
accidentally  awakened  impulse  to  exhibition  is  but  a  partial 
manifestation  of  a  clinical  whole,  like  in  dipsommia  periodica 
the  craving  for  drink,  Magnan,^  from  whom  I  borrow  the 
following  instructive  cases,  justly  lays  the  greatest  stress 

"  Recherchcs  snr  les  Centres  Ncvvcux,"  2e  sc'irie,  Paris,  1893. 


PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

upon  the  impulsive,  periodical  feature  of  these  abnormal 
impulses  ;  and  no  less  upon  the  fact  that  they  are  often 
accompanied  by  terrible  anxiety,  which,  after  the  realisa- 
tion of  the  impulse,  gives  place  to  a  feeling  of  relief. 

These  facts,  and,  no  less,  the  chnical  picture  of  de- 
generacy that,  for  the  most  part,  is  referable  to  injurious 
conditions  that  are  hereditary,  or  that  exercise  an  in- 
jurious effect  on  the  development  of  brain  in  early  years 
(rachitis,  etc.,)  are,  medico-legally,  of  decisive  importance. 

Case  172.  G.,  aged  twenty-nine,  waiter  in  a  cafe. 
In  1888,  while  standing  under  a  church-door,  he  exhibited 
himself  to  several  girls  working  opposite.  He  confessed 
the  act,  and  also  that,  many  times,  in  the  same  place  and 
at  the  same  time  of  day,  he  had  been  guilty  of  the  same 
crime,  having  been  punished  for  it  the  year  before  with 
imprisonment  for  one  month. 

G.  has  very  nervous  parents.  His  father  is  mentally 
unstable  and  very  irascible.  His  mother  is  at  times  in- 
sane, and  suffers  with  severe  neurotic  affection. 

G.  has  always  had  nervous  twitching  of  the  face,  and 
constant  alternation  of  causeless  depression,  with  tadmm 
vita,  and  periods  of  elation.  At  the  ages  of  ten  and  fifteen, 
for  sHght  cause,  he  wished  to  commit  suicide.  When  ex- 
cited, he  has  similar  twitching  of  the  extremities.  He 
presents  constant  general  analgesia.  In  prison  he  was  at 
first  beside  himself  with  shame  about  the  disgrace  he  had 
brought  on  his  family,  and  said  he  was  the  worst  of  men, 
deserving  the  severest  punishment. 

Until  his  nineteenth  year  G.  had  satisfied  himself  with 
solitary  and  mutual  masturbation,  and,  on  one  occasion, 
he  had  practised  onanism  with  a  girl.  From  that  time, 
working  in  a  cafe,  the  female  customers  had  excited  him 
so  intensely  that  ejaculation  was  often  induced.  He  suf- 
fered with  almost  constant  priapism,  and,  as  his  wife 
stated,  in  spite  of  coitus,  it  often  disturbed  his  rest  at 
night.     For  seven  years  he  had  repeatedly  exhibited  him- 


OFFENCE    AGAINST   MORALITY.  489 

self  at  his  window,  and  also  exposed  himself  naked  to 
female  neighbours  living  opposite. 

In  1883  he  married  for  love.  Marital  intercourse  did 
not  satisfy  his  needs.  At  times  his  sexual  excitement  was 
so  intense  that  he  had  headache,  and  seemed  confused, 
like  one  drunk,  strange  and  incapable  of  work. 

In  one  of  these  attacks  he  had  recently  exhibited  him- 
self before  ladies  in  two  streets  of  Paris  (12th  May,  1887). 
Since  then  he  was  fighting  a  desperate  battle  against 
these  morbid  impulses  which  had  now  become  almost  per- 
manent, and  when  at  their  height  made  him  morose  and 
confused,  and  caused  him  to  weep  all  night.  In  spite  of 
all  efforts  he  backslided  again  and  again.  Opinion  :  Proof 
of  hereditary  degeneration  with  delusions  and  irresis- 
tible impulses  ("  perversion  dehrante  du  sens  genital  ")_ 
Pardon  {Magnan,  "  Arch,  de  I'anthropologie  criminelle," 
v..  No.  28). 

Case  173.  B.,  aged  twenty-seven;  of  neuropathic 
mother  and  alcoholic  father.  He  has  one  brother  who 
is  a  drinker ;  and  a  hysterical  sister.  Four  blood  rela- 
tions on  paternal  side  are  drunkards,  one  female  cousin 
is  hysterical. 

After  his  eleventh  year,  onanism,  solitary  or  mutual. 
After  his  thirteenth  year,  impulses  to  exhibition.  He  at- 
tempted it  at  a  street  urinal ;  he  felt  pleasure  in  it,  but 
also  immediately  twinges  of  conscience.  If  he  attempted 
to  oppose  his  impulse  thereafter,  he  became  apprehensive, 
and  had  a  feehng  of  oppression  in  his  chest.  When  a 
soldier,  he  was  often  impelled  to  expose  himself,  under 
various  pretexts,  to  his  comrades. 

After  his  seventeenth  year  he  had  sexual  congress  with 
women.  It  gave  him  great  pleasure  to  show  himself 
naked  before  them.  He  continued  his  exhibition  on  the 
street.  Since  he  could  but  infrequently  count  on  female 
spectators  at  urinals,  he  changed  his  place  to  churches. 
In  order  to  exhibit  himself  at  such  places,  he  always  had 


490  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

to  strengthen  his  courage  by  drinking.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  spirits,  the  impulse,  at  other  times  controllable 
with  difficulty,  became  irresistible.  He  was  not  sentenced. 
He  lost  his  position,  and  then  drank  more.  Not  long 
after,  he  was  again  arrested  for  exhibition  and  mastur- 
bation in  a  church  (Magnan,  ibid}). 

Case  1 74.  X.,  aged  thirty-five ;  barber's  assistant. 
Repeatedly  punished  for  offence  against  decency,  he  is 
again  arrested ;  for,  during  three  weeks  he  had  been 
hanging  around  girls'  schools,  trying  to  attract  the  at- 
tention of  the  pupils,  and,  when  he  had  succeeded  in 
this,  had  exhibited  himself.  Occasionally  he  had  promised 
them  money,  with  the  words,  "  Habeo  mentulam  pulcher- 
rimam,  venite  ad  me  ut  earn  lambatis  ". 

At  his  examination  X.  confessed  everything,  but  did 
not  know  how  it  had  come  about.  He  was  the  most 
reasonable  of  men  in  other  respects,  but  had  the  impulse 
to  commit  this  crime,  and  could  not  overcome  it. 

In  1879,  when  in  the  army,  he  was  once  out  on  leave, 
and  had  run  around  exhibiting  himself  to  children  :  im- 
prisonment for  a  year.  The  same  crime  in  1881.  He 
chased  the  crying  children,  and  "  stared  "  at  them  :  im- 
prisonment of  one  year  and  three  months.  Two  days 
after  his  discharge,  he  said  to  two  little  girls  :  "  Si  men- 
tulam meam  videre  vultis  mecum  in  banc  tabernam  veni- 
atis  ".  He  denied  these  words,  and  claimed  drunkenness  ; 
imprisonment  for  three  months. 

In  1883  renewed  exhibition  ;  during  the  act  he  said 
nothing.  At  his  examination  he  stated  that,  since  a  severe 
illness,  eight  years  previously,  he  had  suffered  with  such 
excitations  :  imprisonment  for  one  month. 

In  1884  exhibition  before  girls  in  a  churchyard  ;  again 
in  1885.  He  declared  :  "  I  understand  my  crime,  but  it 
is  like  a  disease.      When  it  comes  over  me,  I  cannot  keep 

1  Analogous  case:  Boissicr  et  Lachaux,  "Archives  de  Neurologie," 
1893,  October. 


OFFENCE  AGAINST  MORALITY.  491 

from  such  acts.  It  sometimes  happens  that,  for  quite  a 
long  time,  I  am  free  from  these  inchnations."  Imprison- 
ment for  six  months. 

Discharged  on  12th  August,  1885,  he  had  a  relapse  on 
15th  August.  The  same  excuse  was  given.  This  time  he 
underwent  medical  examination.  The  examination  re- 
vealed no  mental  disturbance.  Sentenced  to  three  years. 
After  discharge,  a  series  of  new  exhibitions.  On  this 
occasion,  examination  revealed  the  followingf  : — 

His  father  suffered  with  chronic  alcoholism,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  guilty  of  the  same  crime.  Mother  and 
a  sister  nervously  ill,  and  the  whole  family  of  excitable 
temperament. 

From  his  seventh  to  his  eighteenth  year  X.  suffered  with 
epileptic  convulsions.  First  cohabitation  at  sixteen  ;  later, 
gonorrhoea  and,  it  is  stated,  syphilis.  After  that,  normal 
sexual  intercourse  until  his  twenty-first  year.  At  that 
time  he  often  had  to  pass  a  playground,  and  at  times 
would  urinate  there  ;  and  it  happened  that  the  children 
watched  him  out  of  curiosity. 

He  noticed,  occasionally,  that  being  watched  in  this 
manner  caused  him  sexual  excitement,  induced  erection 
and  even  ejaculation.  He  now  found  more  pleasure  in 
this  kind  of  sexual  gratification,  and  became  indijfferent 
about  coitus  ;  satisfying  himself  only  in  this  manner.  He 
felt  that  all  his  thought  was  ruled  by  this,  and  he  dreamed 
only  of  exhibitions,  with  pollutions.  His  attempts  to  con- 
trol his  impulse  became  more  and  more  ineffectual.  It 
came  over  him  with  such  force  that  he  noticed  nothinfr 
around  him,  and  saw  and  heard  nothing,  and  was  like  one 
"  devoid  of  reason  " — like  "  a  bull  trying  to  butt  his  head 
through  a  wall  ". 

X.  has  an  abnormally  broad  head ;  small  penis  ;  the 
left  testicle  deformed.  Patellar  reflex  absent.  Symptoms 
of  neurasthenia,  especially  cerebral.  Frequent  pollutions. 
For  the  most  part,  his  dreams  are  about  normal  coitus, 
only  infrequently  about  exhibition  before  little  girls. 


492  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

With  reference  to  his  sexual  acts,  he  states  that  the 
impulse  to  seek  and  approach  little  girls  is  primary  ;  only 
when  he  has  succeeded  earum  intentionem  in  sua  geni- 
talia nudata  transferre,  erectionem  et  ejaculationem  fieri. 
He  does  not  lose  consciousness  in  the  act.  After  it  he  is 
troubled  about  his  deed,  and,  if  undiscovered,  says  to 
himself,  "  Once  more  I  have  escaped  the  authorities  ". 

In  prison  he  did  not  have  the  impulse;  there,  he  was 
troubled  only  with  dreams  and  pollutions.  In  freedom  he 
had  daily  sought  opportunity  to  satisfy  himself  with  ex- 
hibition. He  would  give  ten  years  of  his  life  to  be  free 
from  the  thing  ;  "  this  life  of  constant  anxiety,  this  alter- 
nation between  freedom  and  imprisonment,is  unendurable". 

The  opinion  assumed  a  congenital  (?)  perversity  of  the 
sexual  instinct,  with  unmistakable  hereditary  taint,  neuro- 
pathic constitution,  asymmetry  of  cranium,  and  defective 
development  of  the  genitals. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  remark  that  the  exhibition  began 
when  the  epilepsy  ceased;  so  that  one  might  think  of  a  vicarious 
phenomenon. 

The  sexual  perversity  developed,  with  predisposition, 
through  accidental  association  of  ideas  of  sexual  content 
(children  looking  at  him  urinating)  with  an  act  that,  in 
itself,  was  purposeless. 

The  patient  was  not  sentenced,  but  sent  to  an  asylum 
(Dr.  Freyer,  "  Zeitschr.  f.  Medicinalbeamte,"  3  Jahrg., 
No.  8). 

Case  175.  At  nine  o'clock  at  night,  in  the  spring  of 
1891,  a  lady,  in  great  trepidation,  came  to  the  policeman 
in  the  city  park  of  X.,  with  the  statement  that  a  man, 
absolutely  naked  in  front,  had  approached  her  from  the 
bushes,  and  she  had  run  away  frightened.  The  officer 
went  at  once  to  the  place  indicated,  and  found  a  man, 
who  exposed  ventrem  et  genitalia  nuda.  He  attempted  to 
escape,  but  was  overtaken  and  arrested.  He  stated  that 
he  had  been  sexually  excited  by  alcohol,  and  had  been  on 


OFFENCE    AGAINST    MORALITY.  493 

the  point  of  going  to  a  prostitute.  On  his  way  through 
the  park,  however,  he  recalled  the  fact  that  exhibition 
gave  him  much  greater  pleasure  than  was  afforded  him 
by  coitus,  in  which  he  seldom,  and  only  faute  de  mieux,  in- 
dulged. After  drawing  up  his  shirt,  he  posted  himself  in 
the  bushes,  and  when  two  women  came  up  the  path  he 
approached  them  with  exposed  genitals.  In  such  exhibi- 
tion he  had  a  pleasurable  feehng  of  warmth,  and  the  blood 
mounted  to  his  head. 

The  accused  works  in  a  factory,  and  his  employer 
states  that  he  is  faithful,  saving,  sober  and  intelligent. 

In  1886  B.  had  been  punished  because  he  had  twice 
exhibited  himself  publicly,— once  in  broad  daylight  and 
once  at  night,  under  a  street  lamp. 

B.,  age  37,  single,  makes  a  pecuHar  impression  owing 
to  his  dandified  dress  and  affected  manner.  His  eyes 
have  a  neuropathic,  languishing  expression  ;  around  his 
mouth  plays  a  smile  of  self-satisfaction.  He  is  said  to 
come  of  healthy  parents.  A  sister  of  his  father  and  one 
of  his  mother's  were  insane.  Others  of  their  relatives 
were  thought  religiously  eccentric. 

B.  has  never  had  any  severe  illness.  From  childhood 
he  was  eccentric  and  imaginative.  He  loved  romances 
about  knights  and  others,  was  entirely  absorbed  by  them, 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  identify  himself  in  fancy  with 
the  heroes.  He  always  thought  himself  a  httle  better 
than  others,  and  thought  much  of  elegant  dress  and 
ornament;  and  when  he  strutted  about  on  Sundays  he 
imagined  himself  a  high  official. 

B.  has  never  shown  epileptic  symptoms.  In  youth, 
moderate  indulgence  in  masturbation ;  later,  moderate 
indulgence  in  coitus.  Previously,  never  any  perverse 
sexual  feelings  or  impulses.  Eetired  manner  of  Hfe ;  in 
leisure  hours,  reading  (popular  novels,  heroic  tales,  Dumas 
and  others).  B.  was  not  a  drinker.  Exceptionally  Le 
made  himself  a  kind  of  punch,  by  which  he  was  always 
excited  sexually. 


494  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

For  some  years,  with  marked  decrease  of  libido, 
after  such  alcohohc  indulgence,  he  had  developed  the 
"  accursedly  silly  thought"  and  the  desire  genitalia  adspec- 
hti  fcminarum  puhlice  exhibere. 

If  he  got  into  this  state  he  felt  warm,  his  heart  beat 
violently,  blood  rushed  to  his  head,  and  he  could  then  no 
longer  resist  his  impulse.  He  heard  and  saw  nothing 
more,  and  was  absolutely  absorbed  in  his  lust.  Afterward 
he  had  often  pounded  his  crazy  head  with  his  fists,  and 
firmly  resolved  never  to  do  such  a  thing  again ;  but  the 
crazy  ideas  had  always  returned. 

In  his  exhibition  his  penis  became  only  half-erected, 
and  ejaculation  never  occurred ;  even  in  coitus  it  was 
always  tardy.  In  exhibition  he  was  satisfied  with  genitalia 
sua  adspicere,  and  he  had  the  lustful  thought  that  this 
sight  must  be  very  pleasant  to  women,  since  he  himself 
liked  so  much  to  see  genitalia  feminarum.  He  was  capable 
of  coitus  only  when  the  puella  showed  herself  very  partial 
to  him ;  without  this  he  preferred  rather  to  pay  and  go 
without  doing  anything.  In  his  dreams  he  exhibited 
himself  to  young,  voluptuous  women. 

The  medico-legal  opinion  recognised  the  hereditary 
psychopathic  character  of  the  culprit,  and  the  perverse, 
impulsive  desire  to  perform  the  incriminating  acts ;  and 
pointed  out,  further,  the  remarkable  fact  that  in  B.,  who 
was  otherwise  sober  and  saving,  the  impulses  to  indulge 
in  alcohol  depended  on  abnormal  conditions  that  recurred 
periodically,  and  forced  him  to  indulge.  That,  during  his 
attacks,  B.  was  in  an  exceptional  psychical  state,  in  a 
kind  of  mental  confusion,  and  absolutely  absorbed  in  his 
perverse  sexual  fancy,  is  clearly  shown  by  the  species  facti. 
Thus  is  explained  the  fact  that  he  became  aware  of  the 
approach  of  the  police  only  when  it  was  too  late  to  try 
to  escape.  In  this  hereditary  and  degenerate  impulsive 
exhibitionism,  it  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  perverse 
sexual  impulse  is  awakened  from  its  latency  by  the  in- 
fluence of  alcohol. 


OFFENCE   AGAINST   MORALITY.  495 

The  foregoing  cases  seem  to  justify  the  assumption  oi 
a  psycho-pathological  meaning  of  "exhibition"  in  the 
sense  of  sexual  demonstration. 

Dr.  Hoche,  however,  counsels  caution,  quoting  the 
following  case  observed  by  himself  and  Prof.  Furstner, 
which  was  by  the  experts  and  the  court  not  considered  to 
be  of  psychopathic  import. 

Case  176.  Dr.  X.  has  for  several  years  scared  the 
women  of  Strassburg  by  exposing  before  them  his  genitalia 
mcda.  He  would  walk  about  in  a  long  cloak  and  when 
meeting  ladies  throw  it  back  either  under  a  street  lamp 
or  igniting  a  red-fire  match,  and  thus  exhibit  himself. 
At  other  times  he  would  early  in  the  morning  ring  the 
bells  of  houses  and  exhibit  himself  before  the  servants 
who  came  to  open  the  door  or  looked  out  of  the  window. 

The  result  of  psychiatric  examination  was :  hereditary 
taint  was  estabhshed  but  faint.  From  childhood  strong 
sexual  instinct  (onanism,  later  on  normal  sexual  excesses 
up  to  the  present).  Excuse :  "  irresistible  impulse,"  but 
never  loss  of  the  consciousness  of  infamous  and  criminal 
behaviour.  Epilepsy  and  mental  disturbance  in  the 
narrower  sense  of  the  word  to  be  excluded.  X.  is  of  an 
effeminate,  weak  nature,  but  not  an  imbecile. 

The  clinical  observation  offered,  according  to  the  pro- 
secution, no  ground  for  the  claim  of  irresponsibility  (§  51 
"  Deutsch.  Stgb.").  Sentence  :  one  year's  imprisonment. 
During  confinement  no  abnormal  "  impulses  ".  Marriage 
after  release  (Dr.  Hoche,  "Neurolog.  Centralblatt,"  1896,  2). 

The  report  of  this  case  is  too  aphoristic  to  allow  of 
the  admission  of  Dr.  Hoche's  contention.  The  impartial 
observer  will  gain  the  impression  that  the  subject  was 
affected,  even  though  "moderately  yet  directly,  with 
hereditary  taint,"  and  in  consequence  was  a  person  of 
abnormal  psychical  individuality,  to  whom  the  benefit  of 
"  extenuating  circumstances  "  should  have  been  extended. 


496  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

One  year's  imprisonment  was  much  too  severe  a  punish- 
ment, and  by  no  means  an  adequate  protection  for  the 
public  against  X. 

A  forensically  important  variety  of  exhibition,  which, 
chnically  speaking,  rests  for  certain  upon  a  similar  neu- 
rotic and  degenerate  foundation,  and  which  expresses 
itself  in  a  peculiar  act,  conditioned  by  violent  libido 
(hypercBsthesia  sexualis),  associated  with  diminished  virility, 
is  made  up  of  the  so-called  frottcurs. 

The  three  following  cases,  borrowed  from  Magnan  {op. 
cit.),  are  typical : — 

Case  177.  C,  age  forty-four;  hereditarily  predis- 
posed ;  drinker,  and  suffering  with  lead  poisoning.  Until 
the  last  year  he  had  masturbated  much,  and  often  drawn 
pornographic  pictures  and  shown  them  to  his  acquaint- 
ances. He  had  repeatedly  dressed  himself  as  a  woman  in 
secret. 

For  two  years,  since  becoming  impotent,  he  had  felt 
desire,  while  in  crowds  at  dusk,  mentulam  denudare 
eamque  ad  nates  mulieris  crassissime  terere.  Once, 
when  discovered  in  the  act,  he  had  been  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  four  months. 

His  wife  kept  a  milk-shop.  Iterum  iterumque  sibi 
temperare  non  potuit  quin  genitalia  in  ollam  lacte  com- 
pletam  mergeret.  In  the  act  he  felt  lustful  pleasure,  "  as 
if  touched  with  velvet  ".  He  was  cynical  enougli  to  use 
this  milk  for  himself  and  the  customers.  During  im- 
prisonment alcoholic  persecutory  insanity  developed  in 
him. 

Case  178.  M.,  age  thirty-one;  married  six  years; 
father  of  four  children  ;  badly  predisposed  ;  subject  to 
melancholia  at  times.  Three  years  before,  he  was  dis- 
covered by  his  wife  with  a  silk  dress  on,  masturbating. 
One  day  he  was  discovered,  in  a  shop,  in  the  act  oi /rot- 


OFFENCE   AGAINST   MORALITY.  497 

tage  on  a  lady.     He  was  very  repentant,  and  asked  to  be 
severely  punished  for  his  irresistible  impulse. 

Case  1 79.  G.,  age  thirty-three  ;  badly  predisposed 
hereditarily.  At  an  omnibus  station  he  was  discovered 
in  the  act  of  frottage  with  his  penis  on  a  lady.  Deep 
repentance  ;  but  he  stated  that  at  the  sight  of  a  noticeable 
jjosteriora  of  a  lady,  he  was  irresistibly  impelled  to  practise 
frottage,  and  that  he  became  confused  and  knew  not  what 
he  did.     Sent  to  an  asylum. 

Case  180.  Afrotteur.  Z.,  born  in  1850;  of  blame- 
less life  previously  ;  of  good  family  ;  private  official.  He  is 
well  to  do  financially  ;  untainted.  After  a  short  married 
life  he  became  a  widower,  in  1873.  For  some  time  he 
had  attracted  attention  in  churches,  because  he  crowded 
up  behind  women,  both  old  and  young  indifferently,  and 
toyed  with  their  "  bustles  ".  He  was  watched,  and  one 
day  he  was  arrested  in  the  act.  Z.  was  terribly  frightened, 
and  in  despair  about  his  situation  ;  and,  in  making  a  full 
confession,  he  begged  for  pardon,  for  nothing  but  suicide 
remained  for  him. 

For  two  years  he  had  been  subject  to  the  unhappy 
impulse  to  go  in  crowds  of  people — in  churches,  at  box- 
offices  of  theatres,  etc. — and  press  up  behind  females  and 
manipulate  the  prominent  portion  of  their  dresses,  thus 
producing  orgasm  and  ejaculation. 

Z.  states  that  he  was  never  given  to  masturbation, 
and  had  never  been  in  any  way  perverse  sexually.  Since 
the  early  death  of  his  wife,  he  had  gratified  his  great 
sexual  desire  in  temporary  love-affairs,  having  always  had 
an  aversion  for  prostitutes  and  brothels.  The  impulse  to 
frottage  had  suddenly  seized  him,  two  years  ago,  while 
he  happened  to  be  in  church.  Though  he  was  conscious 
that  it  was  wrong,  he  could  not  help  yielding  to  it 
immediately.  Since  then  he  had  been  excitable  to  the 
posteriora  of  females,  and  had  been  actually  impelled  to 

32 


498  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

seek  opportunity  for  frottage.  The  only  thing  on  women 
that  excited  him  was  the  "  bustle  "  ;  every  other  part  of 
the  body  and  attire  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him ; 
neither  did  he  mind  whether  the  woman  was  old  or  young, 
beautiful  or  ugly.  Since  this  began,  he  had  had  no  more 
inclination  for  natural  gratification.  Of  late  frottage  scenes 
had  appeared  in  his  dreams. 

During  his  acts  he  was  fully  conscious  of  his  situation 
and  the  act,  and  tried  to  perform  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
attract  as  little  attention  as  possible.  After  his  act  he 
was  always  ashamed  of  what  he  had  done. 

The  medical  examination  revealed  no  sign  of  mental 
disease  or  mental  weakness,  but  symptoms  of  neuras- 
thenia sexualis — ex  ahstinentia  libidinosi  (?) — which  was 
also  proved  by  the  circumstance  that  even  the  mere  touch 
of  the  fetich  with  the  unexposed  genitals  sufficed  to  in- 
duce ejaculation.  Apparently  Z.,  weakened  sexually  and 
distrusting  his  virility,  and  yet  libidinous,  had  come  to 
practise  frottage  by  having  the  sight  of  posteriora  femma 
fall  together  accidentally  with  sexual  excitement;  and  this 
associative  combination  of  a  perception  with  a  feeling  per- 
mitted the  former  to  attain  the  significance  of  a  fetich. 

Whether  these  frotteurs  (if  considered  as  men  who 
in  consequence  of  disturbed  virility  have  become  either 
temporarily  or  permanently  hypersexually  degenerated) 
should  come  under  the  category  of  exhibitionists,  or 
should  be  classified  with  the  fetichists,  as  Gamier  does 
("  Les  fetichistes,"  p.  73),  can  hardly  be  decided  on 
account  of  the  limited  number  of  cases  thus  far  observed. 

The  point  whether  denudatio  genitalium  takes  place  or 
not,  cannot  affect  this  decision,  for  it  may  depend  in  the 
frotteur  on  the  intensity  of  the  orgasm  which  may  lead 
even  to  lustful  ecstasy,  or  also  from  external  circumstances 
favourable  to  this  loathsome  impulse.  The  very  fact  that 
up  till  now  in  pathological  fetichism  the  fetich  has  never 
had  reference  to  partes  gcnitnhs  or  the  surrounding  parts 


OFFENCE   AGAINST   MORALITY.  499 

seems  to  upset  Gamier's  theory  as  to  fetichism  of  nates 
femina  (cf.  p.  209). 

The  simplest  explanation  seems  to  be  that  "  frottage  " 
is  a  masturbatorial  act  of  a  hypersexual  individual  who 
is  uncertain  about  his  viriHty  in  corpore  femince.  This 
would  also  explain  the  motive  of  the  assault  being  made 
not  ad  anteriora  but  ad  posteriora  {cf.  case  177).  That 
fetichism  may  be  involved  seems  to  follow  from  case  178 
which  clearly  proves  silk-fetichism.  Very  hkely  the  lady 
in  question  wore  a  silk  gown,  and  the  indecent  attack  was 
directed  upon  the  dress,  not  the  nates.  In  case  180  the 
act  is  evidently  quahfied  by  the  "  bustle  "  and  not  by  the 
particular  part  of  the  body. 

As  an  act  which  offends  public  morals,  and  which  is, 
therefore,  punishable,  the  violation  of  statues — a  whole 
series  of  cases  of  which  Moreau  {op.  cit.)  has  collected  from 
ancient  and  modern  times — may  be  enumerated  here. 
They  are,  unfortunately,  given  too  much  hke  anecdotes 
to  allow  satisfactory  judgment  of  them.  They  always 
give  the  impression  of  being  pathological — hke  the  story 
of  a  young  man  (related  by  Lucianus  and  St.  Clemens, 
of  Alexandria)  who  made  use  of  a  Venus  of  Praxiteles  for 
the  gratification  of  his  lust ;  and  the  case  of  Clisyphus, 
who  violated  the  statue  of  a  goddess  in  the  Temple  of 
Samos,  after  having  placed  a  piece  of  meat  on  a  certain 
part.  In  modern  times,  the  "  Journal  L'evenement  "  of 
4th  March,  1877,  relates  the  story  of  a  gardener  who  fell 
in  love  with  a  statue  of  the  Venus  of  Milo,  and  was 
discovered  attempting  coitus  with  it.  At  any  rate,  these 
cases  stand  in  etiological  relation  with  abnormally  intense 
libido  and  defective  virility  or  courage,  or  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity for  normal  sexual  gratification. 

The  same  thing  must  be  assumed  in  the  case  of  the 
so-called  "voyeurs''^ — i.e.,  men  who  are  so  cynical  that 

1  Dr.  Moll  calls  this  perversion  (?)  mixoscopia  (from  fn^is,  cohabit- 
ation ;  and  (TKiirTnv,  to  look).  His  assumption  that  it  is  related  to  maso- 
chism, in  that  there  is  a  stimulus  for  the  voyeur  in  sufTcring  at  seeing  a, 


600  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

they  seek  to  get  sight  of  coitus,  in  order  to  assist  their 
virility  ;  or  who  seek  to  have  orgasm  and  ejaculation  at 
the  sight  of  an  excited  woman.  Concerning  this  moral 
aberration,  which,  for  various  reasons,  cannot  be  further 
described  here,  it  will  suffice  to  refer  to  Coffigiwns  book, 
"La  Corruption  a  Paris".  The  revelations,  in  the 
domain  of  sexual  perversity,  and  also  perversion,  which 
this  book  makes,  are  horrible. 

2.  Rape  and  Lust-Murder. 

(Austrian  Statutes,  §§  125,  127;  Austrian  Abridgment,  §  192;  German 
Statutes,  §  177.) 

By  the  term  rape,  the  jurist  understands  coitus,  out- 
side of  the  marriage  relation,  with  an  adult,  enforced  by 
means  of  threats  or  violence  ;  or  with  an  adult  in  a  condi- 
tion of  defencelessness  or  unconsciousness  ;  or  with  a  girl 
under  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  Immissio  penis,  or,  at 
least,  conjunctio  memhrorum  (Schiltze)  is  necessary  to  estab- 
lish the  fact.  To-day,  rape  on  children  is  remarkably 
frequent.  Hofmann  ("  Ger.  Med.,"  i.,  p.  155)  and  Tardieu 
("Attentats")  report  horrible  cases. 

The  latter  establishes  the  fact  that,  from  1851  to  1875 
inclusive,  22,017  cases  of  rape  came  before  the  courts  in 
France,  and  of  these  17,657  were  committed  on  children. 

The  crime  of  rape  presumes  a  temporary,  powerful 
excitation  of  sexual  desire,  induced  by  excess  in  alcohol 
or  by  some  other  condition.  It  is  highly  improbable  that 
a  man  morally  intact  would  commit  this  most  brutal 
crime.  Lombroso  {Goltdammcr  s  "  Arch.")  considers  the 
majority  of  men  who  commit  rape  to  be  degenerate,  par- 
ticularly when  the  crime  is  done  on  children  or  old  women. 
He  asserts  that,  in  many  such  men,  he  has  found  actual 
signs  of  degeneracy. 

It  is  a  fact  that  rape  is  very  often  the  act  of  degenerate 

woman  in  the  possession  of  another,  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  justified. 
For  further  details,  vide  Moll  "  Die  contriire  Sexualempfindung,"  p.  137. 


EAPE    AND   LUST-MURDER.  501 

male  imbeciles/  who,  under  some  circumstances,  do  not 
even  respect  the  bond  of  blood. 

Cases  as  a  result  of  mania,  satyriasis  and  epilepsy- 
have  occurred,  and  are  to  be  kept  in  mind. 

The  crime  of  rape  may  be  followed  by  the  murder  of 
the  victim.^  There  may  be  unintentional  murder,  murder 
to  destroy  the  only  witness  of  the  crime,  or  murder  out  of 
lust  (v.  supra).  Only  for  cases  of  the  latter  kind  should 
the  term  lust-murder  ^  be  used. 

The  motives  of  lust-murder  have  been  previously  con- 
sidered. The  cases  given  in  illustration  are  characteristic 
of  the  manner  of  the  deed.  The  presumption  of  a  murder 
out  of  lust  is  always  given  when  injuries  of  the  genitals 
are  found,  the  character  and  extent  of  which  are  such  as 
could  not  be  explained  by  merely  a  brutal  attempt  at 
coitus  ;  and,  still  more,  when  the  body  has  been  opened, 
or  parts  (intestines,  genitals)  torn  out  and  are  wanting.* 

Lust-murders  dependent  upon  psychopathic  conditions 
are  never  committed  with  accompHces. 

Case  181.  Weak-mindedness ;  epilepsy;  attempt  at 
rape ;  murder.  On  the  evening  of  27th  May,  1888,  a  boy 
eight  years  old,  Blasius,  was  playing  with  other  children 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  village  of  S.  An  unknown 
man  came  along  and  enticed  the  boy  into  the  woods. 

The  next  day  the  boy's  body  was  found  in  a  ravine, 
with  the  abdomen  slit  open,  an  incised  wound  in  the 
cardiac  region  and  two  stab-wounds  in  the  neck. 

Since,  on  21st  May,  a  man  answering  to  the  descrip- 
tion given  of  the  murderer  of  the  boy  had  attempted  to 
treat  a  six-year-old  girl  in  a  similar  manner,  and  had 
only  accidentally  been  prevented,  it  was  presumed  to  be  a 
case  of  lust-murder. 

1  "AnnaL  medico-paychol.,"  1849,  p.  515;  1863,  p.  57;  18G4,  p.  215 
1866,  p.  253. 

2  Cf.  the  cases  of  Tardieu,  "Attentats,"  pp.  182-92. 
^  Cf.  Holtzendorff,  "  Psychologie  des  Mords  ". 

*  Tardieu,  "Attentats,"  case  51,  p.  188. 


502  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

It  was  proved  that  the  body  was  found  in  a  heap,  with 
only  the  shirt  and  jacket  on ;  also  that  there  was  a  long 
incision  in  the  scrotum. 

Suspicion  fell  upon  a  farm-hand,  E. ;  but,  on  con- 
frontation with  the  children,  it  was  not  possible  to 
identify  him  with  the  stranger  who  had  enticed  the  boy 
into  the  woods.  Besides,  with  the  help  of  his  sister,  he 
proved  an  alibi. 

The  untiring  efforts  of  the  officers  brought  new  evi- 
dence to  light,  and  finally  E.  confessed.  He  had  enticed 
the  girl  into  the  woods,  throvTn  her  down,  exposed  her 
genitals,  and  was  about  to  abuse  her ;  but,  as  she  had  an 
eruption  on  her  head  and  was  crying  loudly,  his  desire 
cooled,  and  he  fled. 

After  he  had  enticed  the  boy  into  the  woods,  under 
the  pretext  of  showing  him  a  bird's  nest,  he  was  taken 
with  a  desire  to  abuse  him.  Since  the  boy  refused  to  take 
off  his  trousers,  he  did  it  for  him ;  and  when  the  boy  began 
to  cry  out  he  stabbed  him  twice  in  the  neck.  Then  he 
made  an  incision,  just  above  the  pubes,  in  imitation  of 
female  genitals,  in  order  to  use  it  to  satisfy  his  lust.  But, 
since  the  body  grew  cold  immediately,  he  lost  his  desire, 
and,  cleaning  his  knife  and  hands  near  the  body,  he  fled. 
When  he  saw  the  boy  dead,  he  was  filled  with  fear,  and 
his  member  became  flaccid. 

During  his  examination  E.  toyed  apathetically  with  a 
rosary.  He  had  acted  in  a  state  of  mental  weakness. 
He  could  not  understand  how  he  came  to  do  such  a  thing. 
He  must  have  been  beside  himself ;  for  he  often  became 
so  weak  in  his  head  that  he  would  almost  fall  down. 
Previous  employers  report  that  he  had  periods  when  he 
was  confused  and  stubborn,  doing  no  work  all  day,  and 
avoiding  others. 

His  father  states  that  E.  learned  with  difficulty,  was 
unskilful  at  work,  and  often  so  obstinate  that  one  did 
not  dare  to  punish  him.  At  such  times  he  would  not  eat, 
and  occasionally  ran  away  and  remained  from  home  for 


RAPE    AND    LUST-MUEDER.  503 

days.  At  such  times  he  also  seemed  quite  lost  in  thought, 
screwed  his  face  up,  and  said  senseless  things. 

When  a  youth,  he  still  sometimes  wetted  the  bed,  and 
often  came  home  from  school  with  wet  or  soiled  clothing. 
He  was  very  restless  in  sleep,  so  that  no  one  could  sleep 
beside  him.  He  had  never  had  playmates.  He  had  never 
been  cruel,  bad,  or  immoral. 

His  mother  gave  similar  testimony  ;  and  further,  that, 
in  his  fifth  year,  E.  had  convulsions  for  the  first  time, 
and  once  lost  the  power  of  speech  for  seven  days.  Some- 
time about  his  seventh  year  he  once  had  convulsions  for 
forty  days,  and  was  also  dropsical.  Later,  too,  he  was 
often  seized  in  sleep,  and  he  often  then  talked  in  his 
sleep  ;  and  mornings,  after  such  nights,  the  bed  was  found 
wet  through. 

At  times  it  was  impossible  to  do  anything  with  him. 
Since  his  mother  did  not  know  whether  it  was  due  to 
viciousness  or  disease,  she  did  not  venture  to  punish  him. 

Since  the  convulsions  in  his  seventh  year,  he  had 
failed  so  in  mind  that  he  could  not  learn  even  the  common 
prayers  ;  and  he  also  became  very  irascible. 

Neighbours,  persons  prominent  in  the  community,  and 
teachers  state  that  E.  was  peculiar,  weak-minded,  and 
irascible  ;  that  at  times  he  was  very  strange,  and  ap- 
parently in  an  exceptional  mental  state. 

The  examinations  of  the  medical  experts  gave  the 
following  results  : — 

E.  is  tall,  slim,  and  poorly  nourished.  His  head 
measures  53  centimetres  in  circumference.  The  cranium 
is  rhombic,  and  in  the  occipital  region  flattened. 

His  expression  is  devoid  of  intelHgence  ;  his  glance  is 
fixed,  expressionless ;  his  attitude  is  careless,  and  his 
body  is  bent  forward.  Movements  are  slow  and  heavy. 
Genitals  normally  developed.  E.'s  whole  appearance 
points  to  torpidity  and  mental  weakness. 

There  are  no  signs  of  degenerative  marks,  no  ab- 
normaHty  of  the  vegetative  organs,  and  no  disturbances  of 


504  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

motility  or  sensibility.  He  comes  of  a  perfectly  healthy 
family.  He  knows  nothing  of  convulsions  or  of  wetting 
his  bed  at  night,  but  he  states  that,  of  late  years,  he  has 
had  attacks  of  vertigo  and  loss  of  mind. 

At  first,  he  denies  the  murder  point  blank.  Later,  in 
great  contrition,  before  the  examining  judge,  he  confessed 
all,  and  gave  a  clear  motive  for  his  crime.  He  had  never 
had  such  a  thought  before. 

He  has  been  given  to  onanism  for  years;  he  even 
practised  it  twice  daily.  He  states  that,  for  want  of 
courage,  he  had  never  ventured  to  ask  coitus  of  a  woman, 
though  in  dreams  such  scenes  exclusively  passed  before 
him.  Neither  in  dreams  nor  in  the  waking  state  had  he 
ever  had  perverse  instincts  ;  particularly  no  sadistic  or 
antipathic  sexual  feelings.  The  sight  of  the  slaughter  of 
animals  had  never  interested  him.  When  he  enticed  the 
girl  into  the  woods,  his  desire,  of  course,  was  to  satisfy 
his  lust  with  her ;  but  how  it  happened  that  he  tried  such 
a  thing  with  a  boy,  he  could  not  explain.  He  thought 
he  must  have  been  out  of  his  mind  at  that  time.  The 
night  after  the  murder  he  could  not  sleep  on  account  of 
fear  ;  he  had  twice  confessed  already,  to  ease  his  con- 
science. He  was  only  afraid  of  being  hanged.  This  should 
not  be  done,  as  he  had  done  the  deed  in  a  weak-minded 
condition. 

He  could  not  tell  why  he  had  cut  open  the  boy's 
abdomen.  It  had  not  occurred  to  him  to  grope  among 
the  intestines,  smell  them,  etc.  He  stated  that,  after  the 
attempt  on  the  girl  in  the  day  time,  and  in  the  night, 
after  the  murder  of  the  boy,  he  had  convulsions.  At  the 
time  of  his  crime  he  was  indeed  conscious,  but  he  had 
given  no  thought  to  what  he  was  doing. 

He  suffered  much  with  headache  ;  could  not  endure 
heat,  thirst,  or  alcohol  ;  there  were  times  when  he  was 
perfectly  confused.  The  test  of  his  intelligence  showed  a 
high  grade  of  weak-mindedness. 

The  opinion  (Dr.  Kautznar,  of  Graz)  showed  the  im- 


RAPE    AND   LUST-MURDER.  505 

becility  and  neurosis  of  the  accused,  and  made  it  probable 
that  his  crime,  for  which  he  had  only  a  general  recollec- 
tion, had  been  committed  in  an  exceptional  (pre-epileptic) 
mental  state,  qualified  by  the  neurosis.  Under  all  circum- 
stances, E.  was  considered  dangerous,  and  probably  would 
require  commitment  to  an  asylum  for  life. 

Case  182.^  Eape  on  a  little  girl  by  an  idiot.  Death  of 
the  victim. 

On  the  evening  of  the  3rd  of  September,  1889,  Anna, 
aged  ten  years,  daughter  of  a  labourer,  went  to  the  village 
church,  distant  about  two  miles,  but  did  not  return.  The 
following  day  her  body  was  found  about  fifty  paces  from 
the  main  road,  in  a  copse,  The  face  was  turned  to  the 
ground ;  the  mouth  was  gagged  with  moss ;  signs  of  a 
criminal  assault  about  the  anus. 

Suspicion  fell  upon  a  young  labourer,  K.,  nineteen 
years  of  age,  because  he  had  on  the  1st  of  September 
attempted  to  entice  the  child  in  the  wood  when  she  was 
returning  from  church. 

K.  was  arrested.  At  first  he  denied  the  deed  ;  but 
afterwards  made  a  complete  confession.  He  had  strangled 
the  child,  and  when  she  stopped  kicking  and  resisting, 
actum  sodomiticum  in  ana  infantis  perpetravit. 

During  the  prehminary  examination  no  one  had  raised 
the  question  as  to  the  mental  condition  of  this  monster ; 
in  consequence,  when  shortly  before  the  trial  counsel 
defending  him  asked  for  an  examination  of  the  mental 
condition  of  his  client,  his  request  was  refused  on  the 
ground  "that  the  previous  proceedings  contained  nothing 
which  could  warrant  the  plea  of  insanity  ". 

By  accident,  counsel  for  the  defence  succeeded  in 
establishing  the  fact  that  the  great  grandfather  and  the 
paternal  aunt  of  the  accused  had  been  insane  ;  that  the 
father  was  an  inveterate  alcohoHst  since  earliest  youth 

1  Cf.  the  complete  medico-legal  opinion  on  this  case  reported  in 
"Friedreich's  Blatter,"  1891,  Heft  6. 


506  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

and  a  cripple  on  one  side  of  the  body.  These  facts  were 
verified  during  the  trial. 

But  it  made  no  impression.  The  defence  finally  pre- 
vailed upon  the  medical  adviser  of  the  court  to  suggest 
that  K.  be  sent  for  observation  to  an  insane  asylum  for  a 
period  of  six  weeks. 

The  opinion  of  the  physician  at  the  institute  estab- 
lished K.'s  idiocy,  thus  rendering  him  irresponsible  for  his 
deed. 

He  appeared  insipid,  stolid,  apathetic  ;  had  forgotten 
nearly  all  he  had  ever  learned  at  school ;  neither  by  voice 
or  mien  he  betrayed  the  slightest  emotions  of  compassion, 
contrition,  shame,  hope,  or  fear  of  the  future.  His  face 
was  immovable  as  a  mask. 

Head  quite  abnormal ;  bullet-shaped.  Proof  that  the 
brain  was  diseased  already  during  the  foetal  period  or 
during  the  earhest  years  of  development. 

Upon  this  report  K.  was  permanently  interned  at  the 
asylum. 

Through  the  indefatigable  efforts  of  a  brave  lawyer 
the  court  was  saved  from  committing  a  judiciary  murder, 
and  the  honour  of  society  was  sustained. 

Case  1 83.  Lust-murder ;  moral  imbecility.  A  man  of 
middle  age ;  born  in  Algeria ;  said  to  be  of  Arabic  descent. 
Had  served  for  several  years  in  the  colonial  troops ;  had 
then  shipped  as  a  sailor  between  Algeria  and  Brazil, 
and  later  on,  in  the  hope  of  finding  hghter  emi)loyment, 
had  gone  to  North  America.  He  was  known  among 
his  acquaintances  as  being  lazy,  cowardly  and  brutal. 
Several  times  he  had  been  sentenced  for  vagrancy;  it 
was  said  that  he  was  a  thief  of  the  lowest  kind ;  that  he 
knocked  about  with  women  of  the  lowest  class,  and  made 
common  cause  with  them.  His  perverse  sexual  relations 
and  acts  were  also  well  known.  On  several  occasions  he 
had  bitten  and  beaten  women  with  whom  he  sexually 
conversed.      According  to  the  description  given  of  him, 


TOETUEE  OF  ANIMALS  DEPENDENT  ON  SADISM.   507 

the  authorities  thought  they  had  secured  a  certain  un- 
known party  who  had  scared  at  night  the  women  in  the 
streets  by  embracing  and  kissing  them,  and  had  the  nick- 
name of  "Jack  the  Kisser  ". 

He  was  a  tall  man  (over  six  feet),  slightly  bent  for- 
ward. Low  forehead,  very  prominent  cheek  bones,  massive 
jawbones ;  small,  narrow,  inflamed  eyes,  piercing  look ; 
big  feet,  hands  hke  birds'  claws ;  shambling  gait.  His 
arms  and  hands  were  tattooed  all  over.  Eemarkable  was 
the  picture  of  a  woman  in  colours,  around  which  the 
name  "  Fatima "  was  inscribed,  because  tattooing  the 
female  form  upon  the  body  is  considered  to  be  disgraceful 
among  the  Arabs  of  the  Algerian  army  ;  and  prostitutes 
generally  have  a  cross  tattooed  in  their  skin.  His  general 
appearance  gave  the  impression  of  a  low  grade  of  intelli- 
gence. 

N.  was  convicted  of  the  murder  of  an  elderly  female 
with  whom  he  had  spent  the  night.  The  corpse  bore 
various  wounds,  some  remarkable  for  their  length  ;  the 
abdomen  was  ripped  open,  pieces  of  the  intestines  were 
cut  out,  so  was  one  of  the  ovaries ;  other  parts  were 
strewn  around  about  the  corpse.  Several  of  the  wounds 
were  hke  crosses ;  one  was  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent. 
The  murderer  had  strangled  his  victim.  He  denied  the 
deed,  and  every  inclination  to  commit  such  an  act  (Dr. 
MacDonald,  Clark  University,  Mass.). 

3.  Bodily  Injury,  Injury  to  Property,  Torture  of  Animals 
Dependent  on  Sadism. 

(Austrian,  §§  152,  411 ;  German,  §  223  [bodily  injury].  Austrian,  §§  85, 
468 ;  German,  §  303  [injury  to  property].  Austrian  Police  Eegula- 
tions  ;  German  Statutes,  §  360  [torture  of  animals].) 

Aside  from  lust-murder,  described  in  the  forecroingf 
section,  as  milder  expressions  of  sadistic  desires,  impulses 
to  stab,  flagellate  or  defile  females,  to  flagellate  boys,  to 
maltreat  animals,  etc.,  also  occur. 


508  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

The  deep  degenerative  significance  of  such  cases  is 
clearly  demonstrated  by  the  series  of  examples  given  under 
"  General  Pathology  ".  Such  mentally  degenerate  indi- 
viduals, should  they  be  unable  to  control  their  perverse 
impulses,  could  only  be  objects  of  care  in  asylums. 

Case  184.  X  ,  aged  twenty-four.  Parents  healthy  ; 
two  brothers  died  of  tuberculosis ;  one  sister  suffers  from 
periodical  convulsions.  X.  at  the  age  of  eight  experienced 
a  sensation  of  lust  with  erection  when  he  pressed  his 
abdomen  against  the  school-desk. 

He  often  indulged  in  this  pleasure.  Later  on  mutual 
masturbation  with  a  school-fellow.  First  ejaculation  at 
the  age  of  thirteen.  Felt  impotent  in  the  first  attempt  at 
coitus  at  eighteen.  Continued  auto-masturbation,  heavy 
neurasthenia  consequent  upon  the  reading  of  a  popular 
book  graphically  describing  the  sinister  effects  of  onanism. 
Improvement  by  hydropathic  treatment.  Upon  a  renewed 
attempt  at  coitus  again  impotent.  Recourse  to  mastur- 
bation. This  fails  as  time  goes  on,  X.  now  resorts  to 
swinging  around  in  the  air  living  fowls  by  their  bills. 
The  sight  of  torture  in  the  animal  produces  erection.  As 
soon  as  the  fowl's  wing  touches  in  transit  X.'s  glans 
penis  ejaculation  takes  place,  accompanied  by  intense 
feelings  of  lust  (Dr.  Wachholz,  "  Friedreicli  s  Blatter  f.  ger. 
Med.,"  1892,  Heft  6,  p.  336). 

Case  185.  Sadism  on  boys  and  girls  committed  by  a 
moral  idiot. 

K.,  fourteen  years  and  five  months  old  ;  killed  a  small 
boy  in  a  cruel  manner.  The  trial  developed  the  following 
details  :  Two  cases  of  murder  ;  a  long  series  of  cases 
(seven)  in  which  K.  had  cruelly  tortured  little  boys.  All 
these  children  ranged  in  age  from  seven  to  ten  years.  K. 
would  lure  them  into  a  hidden  place,  strip  them  naked, 
bind  them  hand  and  foot,  tie  them  against  some  object, 
gag  the  moilth  with  a  handkerchief  and  then  beat  them 


TOKTURE    OF   ANIMALS   DEPENDENT    ON   SADISM.       509 

with  a  stick,  a  strap  or  a  piece  of  rope,  slowly,  pausing 
for  minutes — grinning  all  the  time  without  uttering  a 
word.  One  of  the  boys  he  forced  under  threat  of  death 
to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  twice,  to  promise  under  oath 
secrecy  and  to  repeat  curse  words  and  oaths  after  him. 
In  another  instance  he  pricked  the  boy's  cheeks  with  a 
needle,  played  with  his  genitals,  and  stabbed  him  in  the 
XDubic  region  ;  he  then  ordered  him  to  he  on  his  stomach 
when  he  would  jump  on  his  back  dancing  all  over  the 
body  ;  finally  he  stabbed  him  in  the  nates  and  dug  his 
teeth  into  them.  Another  boy  he  bit  in  the  nose  and 
stabbed  him  with  a  knife. 

The  eighth  victim,  a  httle  girl,  he  enticed  into  his 
mother's  shop,  fell  upon  her  from  behind,  and  clapping 
one  hand  over  her  mouth  cut  her  throat  with  the  other. 
The  body  was  found  in  a  dark  corner  covered  over  with 
ashes  and  manure.  The  head  was  severed  from  the  body, 
the  flesh  cut  away  from  the  bones,  the  whole  body  covered 
with  cuts  and  wounds.  The  largest  cut  was  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  left  thigh  penetrating  through  the  genitals 
into  the  abdomen.  Another  cut  extended  from  the  fossa 
iliaca  obliquely  across  the  abdomen.  The  clothes  and 
linen  were  torn  and  cut  into  shreds. 

The  corpse  of  the  ninth  victim  was  found  with  the 
throat  cut  across,  blood  was  flowing  from  the  eyes,  the 
heart  was  pierced  by  innumerable  stabs.  A  number  of 
thrusts  were  found  in  the  abdomen.  The  scrotum  was 
ripped  open,  the  testicles  were  hanging  out,  and  the  glans 
penis  was  cut  off. 

K.  had  first  lured  the  boy  to  him  as  he  had  done  the 
little  girl,  cut  his  throat  and  then  stabbed  him  all  over. 

K,  whose  hereditary  conditions  are  not  known,  had 
been  suffering  from  a  severe  illness  during  the  whole  of 
his  first  year's  existence,  and  thus  had  become  very  much 
emaciated.  He  began  to  recover,  and  it  is  claimed  that 
since  then  he  was  not  afflicted  with  bad  health,  exceptin<:^ 
frequent  complaints  about  pain  in  the  head  and  eyes  and 


510  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

vertigo,  until  he  was  eleven,  when  he  went  through  a 
"  severe  illness  "  which  made  him  delirious.  Headaches 
would  suddenly  seize  him,  so  that  he  would  run  away 
from  play,  and  return  only  after  a  considerable  interval. 
When  asked  on  such  occasions  about  his  conduct,  he 
would  slowly  answer,  "  My  head,  my  head  ". 

He  was  intractable,  disobedient  and  beyond  control. 
Showed  sudden,  and  extreme  moods,  desires  and  opinions. 
When  three  years  old  he  was  one  day  seen  to  torture  a 
chicken  with  a  knife.  He  lied  with  every  appearance  of 
truth.  At  school  he  was  a  disturbing  element,  making 
faces,  constantly  talking  to  himself  ;  was  obstinate  and  dis- 
respectful. Punishment  to  him  is  injustice ;  he  is  renitent. 
In  the  house  of  correction  he  is  secluded,  preoccupied 
with  himself,  suspicious,  disliked  by  his  comrades — in 
fact,  without  any  chum.  His  intellectual  powers  are 
good ;  he  possesses  sagacity,  reason  and  a  good  memory. 
He  shows  great  defect  in  the  ethical  direction.  He 
betrays  not  the  slightest  signs  of  sorrow  or  penitence  for 
his  deeds,  or  the  least  consciousness  of  his  responsibility. 
Only  for  his  mother  he  seems  to  have  a  sort  of  tender 
feeling.  He  can  assign  no  object  for  his  actions.  He 
calmly  discusses  his  chances  :  "  they  cannot  condemn  him 
to  death  because  he  is  only  fourteen  years  of  age ;  hereto- 
fore they  have  not  been  wont  to  hang  boys  of  his  age, 
and  surely  they  would  not  make  a  beginning  with  him  ". 
What  motive  he  had  in  his  deeds  cannot  be  ascertained 
from  him.  Once  he  said  that  reading  a  description  of 
the  tortures  visited  upon  their  victims  by  the  Ked  Indians 
had  tempted  him  to  imitate  them.  He  had  even  once 
thought  of  running  away  from  home  to  join  the  Indians. 
Whenever  he  espied  a  victim  his  imagination  would  be 
filled  with  pictures  of  cruel  actions. 

On  the  morning  of  such  days  he  would  always  wake 
up  with  vertigo  and  pressure  in  the  head,  which  condition 
would  last  all  day. 

As  physical  anomalies  only  an  exceptionally  large  penis 


TORTURE   OF   ANIMALS   DEPENDENT   ON    SADISM.       511 

and  very  big  testicles  are  mentioned.  Mons  veneris  com- 
pletely and  thickly  covered  with  hair ;  in  fact  the  genitals 
were  fully  developed  like  those  of  an  adult.  No  symptoms 
of  epilepsy  (Dr.  MacDonald,  Clark  University,  Mass.). 

Case  186.  Sadism;  bodily  injury.  B.,  seventeen 
years  of  age,  tinsmith,  bought  on  the  4th  January,  1893, 
a  long  knife  ;  went  to  a  prostitute,  had  repeatedly  sexual 
intercourse  with  her,  gave  her  money,  and  made  her  sit 
undressed  on  the  edge  of  the  bed.  He  now  stabbed  her 
shghtly  three  times  in  the  chest  and  abdomen  whilst  his 
mcmbrum  was  erected.  When  the  girl  began  to  yell  and 
people  came  to  her  assistance  B.  fled,  but  immediately 
gave  himself  up  to  the  pohce.  At  first  he  said  he  had 
stabbed  the  girl  in  a  quarrel,  but  afterwards  stated  he  had 
had  no  motive  for  his  deed.  Several  blood  relations  of 
his  father  had  been  insane.  B.  is  not  tainted,  not  a 
drunkard,  has  not  gone  through  any  severe  illness,  never 
masturbated,  but  had  practised  coitus  for  two  years. 
Genitals  normal.  Seems,  under  observation,  mentally 
normal ;  is  ashamed  of  his  action,  to  which  the  experts 
properly  ascribed  a  sexual  motive.  In  spite  of  definite 
proof  of  mental  sanity,  he  was  released  {Coutagne,  "Annal. 
med.  psych.,"  1893,  July,  Aug.). 

Case  187.  Acts  of  violence  emanating  from  sadism.  M., 
sixty  years  of  age,  owner  of  several  millions,  happily 
married,  father  of  two  daughters,  one  eighteen,  the  other 
sixteen  years  of  age,  is  convicted  of  seduction  of  minors 
and  acts  of  violence  on  females.  He  was  accustomed  to 
go  to  the  house  of  a  procuress,  where  he  was  known 
as  Vhomme  qui  pique,  and  there,  lying  upon  a  sofa  in 
a  pink  silk  dressing-gown  lavishly  trimmed  with  lace, 
would  await  his  victims — puellas  tres  nudas.  They  had  to 
approach  him  in  single  file,  in  silence  and  smiling.  They 
gave  him  needles,  cambric  handkerchiefs  and  a  whip. 
Kneehng   before   one  of   the  girls,   he  would  now  stick 


512  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

about  a  hundred  needles  in  her  body,  and  fasten  with 
twenty  needles  a  handkerchief  upon  her  bosom ;  this 
he  would  suddenly  tear  away,  whip  the  girl,  tear  the  hair 
from  her  7nons  veneris  and  squeeze  her  mammcB,  etc.,  whilst 
the  other  two  girls  would  wipe  the  perspiration  from  his 
forehead  and  strike  lascivious  plastic  attitudes.  Now 
excited  to  the  highest  pitch,  he  would  have  coitus  with 
his  victim.  Later  on,  for  the  sake  of  economy,  he  was 
satisfied  to  perform  his  brutality  with  one  girl  alone. 
This  girl  fell  in  consequence  into  a  severe  illness,  and  in 
her  distress  asked  him  for  help.  He  reported  this  "  extor- 
tion "  to  the  police,  who  on  their  part  made  inquiries,  and 
brought  a  charge  against  him.  At  first  he  denied  the 
facts,  but  convicted,  expressed  his  surprise  that  such  a 
fuss  should  be  made  about  a  mere  trifle.  M.  was  described 
as  a  man  of  repulsive  appearance,  with  receding  forehead. 
He  was  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment,  a  fine 
of  200  francs,  and  1000  francs  damages  to  his  victim 
("  Journal  Gil  Bias,"  Aug.  14  and  16,  1891). 

A  less  revolting  case,  that  of  a  young  man,  is  related 

by  Fcrrioni,  "Archivio  delle  psicopatie  sessuaH,"  i.,  p.  106, 
1896.  This  young  sadist  would  first  wrestle  with  the  girl  in 
order  to  bring  about  virility  and  would,  inter  actum,  bite  and 
pinch  her  in  order  to  produce  satisfaction.  But  one  daj^  he 
bit  the  girl  so  hard  that  she  brought  an  action  against  him. 

Case  188.  Murder  through  sadism.  Married  man,  at 
the  time  of  this  crime  thirty  years  of  age.  He  had  lured 
a  girl  to  the  bell  tower  of  the  church  of  which  he  was 
the  sexton  and  there  killed  her.  Circumstantial  evidence 
forcing  him  to  admit  the  deed,  he  confessed  to  another 
similar  murder.  Both  corpses  showed  numerous  contu- 
sions about  the  fleshy  parts  of  the  head,  fractures  of  the 
skull,  extravasations  under  the  dura  mater  and  in  the 
brain.  No  other  bodily  injuries  were  found ;  the  genital 
organs  were  intact. 


MASOCHISM    AND    SEXUAL    BONDAGE.  513 

Spermal  stains  were  found  on  the  underwear  of  the 
criminal,  who  was  arrested  soon  after  the  deed  was 
committed.  L.  was  described  as  of  pleasing  appearance, 
of  dark  complexion,  beardless.  No  details  about  his 
hereditary  relations,  antecedents,  vita  sexioalis  ante  acta, 
etc. 

His  motive  according  to  his  own  admission  was  "  lust 
of  the  cruellest  and  most  abominable  kind  "  (Dr.  MacDonald, 
Clark  University,  Mass.). 

4.  Masochism  and  Sexual  Bondage. 

Masochism  ^  may  under  certain  circumstances  attain 
forensic  importance,  for  modern  criminal  law  no  longer 
recognises  the  principle  volenti  non  fit  injuria,  and  the 
present  Austrian  statute  in  §  4  says  expressly  :  "  Crimes 
may  also  be  committed  on  persons  who  demand  their 
commission  on  themselves  ". 

Psychologically  speaking,  the  facts  of  sexual  bondage 
are  of  greater  criminal  importance  (c/.  p.  193). 

If  sensuality  is  predominant,  or  in  other  words,  if  a 
man  is  held  in  fetich-thraldom  and  his  moral  power  of 
resistance  is  but  weak,  he  may  by  an  avaricious  or 
vindictive  woman  into  whose  bondage  his  passion  has  led 
him  be  goaded  on  to  the  very  worst  crimes.  The  follow- 
ing case  is  a  striking  instance  : — 

1  As  Ilcrbst  ("  Handb.  d.  osterr.  Strafrcchts,  Wien,"  1878,  p.  72) 
remarks,  there  are,  nevertheless,  crimes  conditioned  by  the  absence  of 
assent  on  the  part  of  the  injured  individual,  which  cease  to  be  such  as 
soon  as  the  injured  individual  has  given  consent — e.g.,  theft,  rape. 

But  Herbst  also  enumerates  here  the  limitation  of  personal  freedom  (?). 

Of  late  a  decided  change  of  views  on  this  point  has  taken  place. 
The  German  criminal  law  regards  the  consent  of  a  man  to  his  own  death 
of  such  importance  that  a  very  different  and  much  milder  punishment  is 
inflicted  under  such  circumstances  (§  216)  ;  and  it  is  the  same  in  Austrian 
law  (Austrian  Abridgment,  §  222).  The  so-called  double  suicide  of  lovers 
was  the  act  considered.  In  bodily  injury  and  deprivation  of  freedom, 
the  consent  of  the  victim  must  also  receive  consideration  at  the  hands 
of  the  judge.  Certainly  a  knowledge  of  masochism  is  of  importance  in 
making  a  judgment  of  the  probability  of  asserted  consent. 

33 


514  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

Case  189.      Murder  of  a  family  through  sexual  bondage. 

N.,  soap  manufacturer  in  Catania  ;  thirty-four  years 
of  age  ;  previously  of  good  character  ;  stabbed  his  wife  in 
her  sleep  to  death  on  the  21st  of  December,  1886,  and 
strangled  his  two  daughters,  one  seven  years  and  the 
other  six  weeks  old.  At  first  he  denied  the  deed,  tried 
to  throw  suspicion  upon  others,  but  finally  confessed  to 
all  the  details  and  begged  to  be  hanged. 

N.  came  of  a  sound  family,  was  healthy  himself,  a 
good  business  man  and  highly  respected  ;  married  well,  but 
for  several  years  was  under  the  fascinating  influence  of  a 
mistress  who  had  captivated  and  completely  controlled  him. 

He  had  kept  this  matter  a  secret  from  the  world  and 
his  wife. 

By  playing  on  his  jealousy  and  declaring  that  by 
marriage  alone  he  could  for  the  future  possess  her,  this 
monster  of  a  woman  had  brought  the  weak  and  infatuated 
N.  to  become  the  murderer  of  his  wife  and  children. 
After  the  deed  he  had  induced  his  young  nephew  to  fetter 
him  as  if  he  himself  were  the  victim  of  the  villains  and 
under  the  threat  of  death  commanded  him  to  silence. 
When  the  neighbours  came  in  he  played  the  role  of  the 
unhappy,  maltreated  father. 

After  a  full  confession  he  showed  the  deepest  contri- 
tion. During  the  two  years  of  the  subsequent  trial,  N. 
never  showed  signs  of  mental  derangement. 

His  mad  love  for  the  mistress  he  could  only  explain 
as  an  infatuation.  He  never  had  cause  to  find  fault  with 
his  wife.  There  were  no  traces  of  abnormal  or  perverse 
sexual  instinct  in  this  exceptional  criminal.  His  sorrow 
and  contrition  over  the  deed  gave  sufficient  proof  that 
no  moral  defect  was  present.  His  mental  condition  was 
declared  to  be  sound.  Exclusion  of  irresistible  impulse 
{Madalari,  "  II  morgagni,"  1890,  Feb.). 

Case  190.      Sexual  bondage  in  a  lady. 

Mrs.    X.,    thirty-six    years    of   age;  mother    of    four 


MASOCHISM   AND    SEXUAL   BONDAGE.  515 

children.  Comes  from  a  neuropathic  and  heavily-tainted 
mother.  Father  psychopathic.  She  began  to  masturbate 
at  the  age  of  five,  had  an  attack  of  melancholia  at  the 
age  of  ten,  during  which  period  she  was  troubled  with  the 
delusion  that  she  could  not  go  to  heaven  on  account  of 
her  sins.  This  made  her  nervous,  excitable,  emotional, 
neurasthenic.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  she  fell  in  love 
with  a  man  who  was  denied  her  by  her  parents.  She 
now  showed  symptoms  of  hysteria.  When  twenty-one 
she  married  a  man  by  many  years  her  senior  who  had 
but  little  sexual  appetite.  Her  conjugal  relations  with 
him  never  satisfied  her ;  coitus  produced  severe  ercthlsmus 
genitalis  which  she  could  not  satisfy  with  masturbation. 
She  suffered  tortures  from  this  libido  insatiata,  yielded 
more  and  more  to  onanism,  became  heavily  hystero- 
neurasthenic,  capricious  and  quarrelsome,  so  that  marital 
relations  grew  ever  colder. 

After  nine  years  of  mental  and  physical  anguish,  Mrs. 
X.  succumbed  to  the  blandishments  of  another  man  in 
whose  arms  she  found  that  gratification  for  which  she 
had  so  long  languished. 

But  now  she  was  tormented  with  the  consciousness 
of  having  broken  her  marriage  vow,  often  feared  she 
would  become  insane,  and  only  the  love  for  her  children 
prevented  her  from  committing  suicide. 

She  scarcely  dared  to  appear  before  her  husband  whom 
she  highly  esteemed  on  account  of  his  noble  character, 
and  felt  dreadful  qualms  of  conscience  because  she  had 
to  conceal  the  awful  secret  from  him. 

Although  she  found  full  gratification  and  immense 
sensual  pleasure  in  the  arms  of  the  other  man,  she  had 
repeatedly  made  attempts  to  give  up  this  liaison.  Her 
efforts  were  in  vain.  She  got  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
bondage  of  this  man,  who  recognising  and  abusing  his 
power  had  merely  to  dissemble  as  if  he  would  leave  her 
in  order  to  possess  her  without  restraint.  He  abused  this 
bondage  of  the  miserable  woman  only  to  gratify  his  sexual 


516  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

appetite,  gradually  even  in  a  perverse  manner.  She  was 
unable  to  refuse  him  any  demand. 

When  Mrs.  X.  in  her  despair  came  to  me  for  pro- 
fessional advice  she  declared  that  she  could  no  longer 
continue  such  a  life  of  misery  and  anguish.  An  insuper- 
able lihido,  disgusting  to  herself,  drevi^  her  to  this  man, 
whom  she  could  not  love  but  as  little  do  without,  whilst 
on  the  other  hand  she  was  constantly  tormented  with  the 
danger  of  discovery,  and  with  self-reproach  on  account 
of  her  offence  against  the  law  of  God  and  man. 

The  greatest  mental  pain  was  caused  by  the  thought 
of  losing  her  paramour,  who  often  threatened  to  leave  her 
if  she  did  not  yield  to  his  wishes,  and  who  controlled  her 
so  thoroughly  that  she  would  do  anything  and  everything 
at  his  bidding. 

The  soundness  of  mind  in  the  horrible  case  189  and 
in  many  other  analogous  cases  cannot  be  called  in  question. 
As  matters  stand  now-a-days  when  the  public  cannot 
comprehend  the  more  refined  analysis '  of  the  motives  in 
a  tragedy  and  when  the  law  profession  eschews  psychology 
in  favour  of  logical  formahsm,  it  can  hardly  be  expected 
that  judge  and  jury  will  regard  the  weight  of  sex^iol 
bo7idage — especially  as  in  this  condition  the  incentive  to 
the  crime  is  not  a  morbid  one  and  the  intensity  of  the 
incentive  itself  cannot  be  dealt  with. 

Nevertheless  in  such  cases  it  behoves  to  consider 
whether  the  accused  was  possibly  still  susceptible  to 
counter-motives  or  whether  these  were  excluded  from  an 
effective  presence.  If  the  latter  be  the  case  it  would  be 
equivalent  to  a  disturbance  of  the  psychical  equilibrium. 

No  doubt  in  these  cases  a  sort  of  acquired  moral  weak- 
ness is  produced  which  impairs  the  soundness  of  mind. 
Sexual  bondage  should  certainly  constitute  a  cause  for 
leniency  in  crimes  committed  through  its  agency. 


ROBBERY   AND    THEFT    DEPENDENT    ON    FETICHISM.       517 

5.   Bodily  Injury,  Robbery  and  Theft  Dependent  on 
Fetichism. 

(Austrian,    §    190;    German,    §    249   [robbery].      Austrian,    §§    171,    460; 
German,  §  242  [theft].) 

It  is  seen  from  the  section  on  fetichism,  under  "  Gen- 
eral Pathology,"  that  pathological  fetichism  may  become 
the  cause  of  crimes.  There  are  now  recognised,  as  such, 
hair-despoiling  (cases  81,  82,  83)  ;  robbery  or  theft  of 
female  linen,  handkercliiefs,  aprons  (cases  86,  87,  91,  93)  ; 
shoes  (cases  66,  93,  94),  and  silks  (case  99).  It  cannot 
be  doubted  that  such  individuals  are  the  subjects  of  deep 
mental  taint.  But,  for  the  assumption  of  an  absence  of 
mental  freedom  and  consequent  irresponsibility,  it  must 
be  proved  that  there  w&s  an  irresistible  impulse,  which, 
either  owing  to  the  strength  of  the  impulse  itself  or  to 
the  existence  of  mental  weakness,  rendered  control  of  the 
criminal  perverse  impelling  force  impossible. 

Such  crimes  and  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  they 
are  carried  out — whereby  they  differ  very  much  from 
common  robbery  and  theft — always  demand  a  medico- 
legal examination.  But  that  the  act  per  sc  docs  not  by 
any  means  necessarily  arise  from  psycho -pathological 
conditions  is  shown  by  the  infrequent  cases  of  hair- 
despoiling^  simply  for  the  purpose  of  gain. 

Case  191.  Handkerchief -fetichisin ;  repeated  thefts  of 
handkerchiefs  belonging  to  women. 

D.,  forty-two  years  of  age,  man-servant,  single,  was 
sent  on  11th  March,  1892,  by  the  pohce  to  the  district 
asylum  of  Deggendorf  (Niederbayern)  for  observation  of 
his  mental  faculties. 

He  is  1.62  m.  high,  muscular  and  well  fed.  Head  is 
submicrocephalic ;  expression  of  face  blank.     The  eye  is 

1  According  to  Austrian  law,  this  crime  should  fall  under  §  411,  as 
slight  bodily  injury;  according  to  the  German  criminal  law,  it  is  bodily 
injury  (c/.  Liszt,  p.  325). 


518  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

distinctly  neuropathic.  Genital  organs  normal.  With 
the  exception  of  a  moderate  degree  of  neurasthenia  and 
increased  patellar  reflexes,  there  is  nothing  abnormal  in 
D.'s  nervous  system. 

In  1878  D.  received  his  first  sentence  of  one  and  a 
half  years'  imprisonment  at  Straubing  for  stealing  hand- 
kerchiefs. 

In  1880  he  stole  a  handkerchief  from  a  tradeswoman 
in  the  yard  of  an  inn,  and  was  sentenced  to  fourteen  days. 

In  1882  he  made  an  attempt  in  the  public  road  to 
pull  the  handkerchief  from  the  hand  of  a  peasant  girl. 
Charged  with  attempted  robbery,  he  was  found  not  guilty 
on  the  strength  of  medical  opinion,  which  stated  weak- 
ness of  mind  and  a  morbid  disturbance  of  the  mental 
faculties  tempore  delicti. 

In  1884  he  was  tried  before  a  jury  for  having  com- 
mitted, under  similar  circumstances,  robbery  of  a  woman's 
handkerchief,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  four  years' 
imprisonment. 

In  1888  he  took  in  the  public  market-place  a  hand- 
kerchief from  the  pocket  of  a  woman.  Sentence,  four 
months. 

In  1889,  for  a  similar  offence,  nine  months. 

In  1891,  ditto,  ten  months.  Otherwise  his  record 
shows  only  a  few  fines  or  detentions  at  the  police  station 
for  carrying  a  concealed  weapon  (a  knife)  and  for  vagrancy. 

All  the  thefts  of  handkerchiefs  were  committed  from 
young  females,  chiefly  in  broad  daylight,  in  the  presence 
of  other  people,  and  so  clumsily  and  impudently  that  each 
time  he  was  arrested  on  the  spot.  In  the  proceedings  not 
the  slightest  traces  of  theft  of  other  articles,  never  so 
small,  can  be  found. 

On  the  9th  December,  1891,  D.  was  once  more  released 
from  jail.  On  the  14th  he  was  caught  steahng  the  hand- 
kerchief from  a  peasant  girl  in  a  crowd  at  the  annual  fair. 
He  was  at  once  arrested,  and  upon  searching  him  the  police 
found  two  more  white  handkerchiefs  belonging  to  women. 


ROBBERY    AND    THEFT    DEPENDENT    ON    FETICHISM.       519 

On  former  occasions  also  whole  collections  of  women's 
handkerchiefs  had  been  found  on  his  person  (1880,  thirty- 
two  pieces ;  1882,  fourteen,  nine  of  which  he  wore  next 
his  skin  ;  on  another  occasion  twenty-five.  In  1891  seven 
white  handkerchiefs  were  found  upon  him). 

When  questioned  as  to  the  motive  for  stealing  hand- 
kerchiefs, he  always  said  that  he  was  drunk  at  the  time, 
and  had  taken  the  handkerchiefs  for  a  joke. 

The  handkerchiefs  found  upon  him  he  claimed  to  have 
bought  or  swapped  for  something  else,  or  he  said  women 
with  whom  he  had  relations  had  given  them  to  him. 

Under  observation  D.  shows  weakness  of  mind,  appears 
run  down  through  vagrancy,  drink  and  masturbation,  but 
good-natured,  obedient,  and  by  no  means  afraid  of  work. 

He  knows  nothing  of  his  parents,  grew  up  without 
supervision  ;  when  a  child  he  made  a  living  by  begging ; 
at  thirteen  he  was  a  stable-boy,  and  was  used  at  fourteen 
by  others  for  pederasty.  He  declares  that  at  a  very  early 
period  he  felt  the  sexual  instinct  very  strongly;  began 
early  to  have  coitus  and  to  practise  masturbation.  When 
he  was  fifteen,  a  coachman  had  told  him  that  great 
pleasure  could  be  derived  by  applying  the  handkerchiefs 
of  young  women  ad  genitalia.  He  tried  it,  found  it  to  be 
the  case,  and  now  sought  to  obtain  in  all  manner  possible 
such  handkerchiefs.  This  craving  became  so  strong  that 
wherever  he  saw  a  pleasing  young  woman  with  a  hand- 
kerchief in  her  hand  or  visible  in  her  pocket  violent  sexual 
excitement  would  seize  him,  and  he  was  impelled  to  make 
his  way  to  this  woman  and  take  the  handkerchief  away 
from  her. 

When  sober  he  generally  contrived  to  resist  this 
impulse  for  fear  of  punishment.  But  when  he  had  drink 
in  him  he  could  not  resist.  When  serving  in  the  army 
he  had  often  induced  young  and  pleasing  girls  to  give 
him  their  handkerchiefs  that  had  already  been  in  use, 
and  to  exchange  them  for  others  after  he  had  used  them 
for  a  while. 


520  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

When  lie  slept  with  a  girl  he  generally  exchanged  his 
own  handkerchief  for  the  girl's.  Often  he  had  bought 
handkerchiefs  that  he  might  exchange  them  with  those 
used  by  women. 

New  and  unused  handkerchiefs  had  no  effect  on  him. 
The  girl  must  have  carried  it  about  and  used  it  before  it 
excited  him  sexually. 

In  order  to  bring  unused  handkerchiefs  into  contact 
with  women,  he  would  at  times  throw  them  in  the  road 
in  front  of  a  woman  coming  towards  him,  that  she  might 
step  on  it  (this  is  taken  from  the  proceedings).  Once  he 
fell  upon  a  girl,  pressed  a  handkerchief  against  her  neck, 
and  ran  away. 

As  soon  as  he  came  into  possession  of  a  handkerchief 
that  had  been  touched  by  a  woman,  bet  would  have 
erection  and  orgasm.  He  would  then  put  Iho  bandker- 
chicf  ad  corpus  nudum,  or  preferablj'  ad  genitalia,  and  thus 
produce  a  pleasurable  ejaculation. 

He  never  asked  such  women  to  have  coitus  with  him, 
partly  because  he  feared  a  refusal,  chiefly,  however,  be- 
cause he  preferred  the  handkerchief  to  the  girl. 

D.  made  all  these  confessions  with  great  reserve,  and 
piecemeal.  Repeatedly  he  broke  into  tears  and  refused  to 
say  more  because  "he  was  so  ashamed  of  himself".  "I 
am  not  a  thief,  and  have  never  stolen  a  penny's  worth 
even  when  I  was  in  dire  distress.  I  never  could  have 
brought  myself  to  sell  one  of  these  handkerchiefs.  I  am 
not  a  bad  man.  Only  when  I  do  these  stupid  things  I  am 
beside  myself." 

Tlic  favourable  opinion  given  b}^  the  authorities  of  the 
asylum  attributed  his  misdeeds  to  an  abnormal  mental 
condition  producing  a  morbid,  irresistible  impulse  to  com- 
mit these  acts,  coupled  with  weakness  of  intellect  in  a 
moderate  degree.     Free  pardon  from  theft. 

Case    192.      Violation  of  ladies'   toilets  emanating  from 

stuff-fetichism. 


VIOLATION  OF  INDIVIDUALS  UNDER  AGE  OF  FOURTEEN.    521 

X.,  heavily  tainted  (great  uncle  insane,  father  a 
drunkard,  sister  an  idiot),  was  arrested  in  an  office  whilst 
pushing  up  against  ladies,  he  was  catting  with  a  pair  of 
scissors  pieces  of  fur,  velvet  or  cloth  from  their  apparel. 
In  his  pockets  and  in  his  room  a  big  lot  of  sucli  cuttings 
was  found. 

X.  had  shown  since  his  tenth  year  a  weakness  for 
woolly  and  fluffy  materials.  Even  the  very  sight,  but 
especially  the  touch,  of  them  would  bring  on  orgasm  and 
ejaculation.  Fur  particularly  had  this  effect  on  him,  and 
after  that  satin.  The  latter  accounted  for  the  fact  that  in 
his  collection  a  number  of  cuttings  of  satin  ribbons  were 
found. 

He  induced  lustful  emotions  by  placing  the  stolen 
pieces  of  stuff  next  to  his  skin.  If  ejaculation  was  not 
spontaneous  he  assisted  with  masturbation.  Woman  in 
her  capacity  as  woman,  or  sexual  intercourse  with  her, 
had  no  charm  for  him  {Gamier,  "  Les  Fetichistes  per- 
vertes,"  p.  49,  Paris,  1896). 

6.  Violation  of  Individuals  Under  the  Age  of  Fourteen. 

(Austrian  Statutes,  §§  128, 132  ;  Austrian  Abridgment,  §§  139,  igi''^ ;  German 
Statutes,  §§  174,  176^.) 

By  violation  of  sexually  immature  individuals,  tbe 
jurist  undei  stands  all  the  possible  immoral  acts  with 
persons  under  fourteen  years  of  age  that  are  not  com- 
prehended in  the  term  rape.  The  term  violation,  in  the 
legal  sense  of  the  word,  comprehends  the  most  horrible 
perversions  and  acts,  which  are  possible  only  to  a  man 
who  is  a  slave  to  lust  and  morally  weak,  and,  as  is  usually 
the  case,  lacking  in  sexual  power. 

A  common  feature  of  these  crimes,  committed  on 
persons  that  really  still  belong  more  or  less  to  childhood, 
is  that  they  are  unmanly,  knavish,  and  often  silly.  It 
is  a  fact  that  such  acts,  excepting  pathological  cases,  like 
those  of  imbeciles,  paretics,  and  senile  dements,  are  almost 


522  PSYCnOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

exclusively  committed  by  young  men  who  lack  courage 
or  have  no  faith  in  their  virility  ;  or  by  roues  who  have, 
to  some  extent,  lost  their  power.  It  is  psychologically 
incomprehensible  that  an  adult  of  full  virility  and  mentally 
sound  should  indulge  in  sexual  abuses  with  children. 

The  imagination  of  debauchees,  in  actively  or  pas- 
sively picturing  immoral  acts,  is  exceedingly  lively  ;  and 
that  the  following  enumeration  of  the  sexual  acts  of 
this  kind  known  to  law  exhausts  all  the  possibilities  is 
questionable. 

Most  frequently  the  abuse  consists  of  sexual  handling 
(under  some  circumstances,  flagellation,^)  active  manus- 
tupration,  or  seducing  children  to  immorality  by  making 
them  perform  onanism  on  the  seducer,  or  lustfully  touch 
him.  Less  frequent  acts  are  cunnilmgus,  irrumare  on  boys 
or  girls,  pcBdicatio  puellarum,  coitus  inter  femora,  and  exhibi- 
tion. 

In  a  case  reported  by  Maschka  ("Handb.,"  iii.,  p.  174), 
a  young  man  had  naked  girls,  from  eight  to  twelve  years 
old,  dance  about  in  his  room,  and  urinate  before  him, 
until  he  ejaculated.  Not  infrequently  boys  are  abused  by 
sensual  women,  who  undertake  to  bring  about  conjunctio 
membrorum  with  them,  in  order  to  satisfy  themselves  by 
means  of  friction  or  onanism.^ 

Tardieu  saw  one  of  the  most  disgusting  examples.  A 
servant,  in  company  with  her  lover,  masturbated  children 
intrusted  to  them,  performed  cunnilingus  with  a  girl  of 
seven  and  introduced  carrots  and  potatoes  into  her  vagina, 
and  put  similar  things  into  the  rectum  of  a  baby  of  two 
years  ! 

Case  193.  Z.,  aged  sixty-two  ;  deeply  tainted,  mas- 
turbator.     He  states  he  has  never  had  coitus,  but  has 

1  Cases,  vide  "  Friedreich'' s  Blatter  f.  ger.  Anthropologie,"  iii.,  p.  77. 

2  Cases,  Maschka,  "  Handb.,"  iii.,  p.  175  ;  Casper,  "  Vieiteljahrsschr.," 
1852,  Bd.  i. ;  TardicM,  "  Attentats  aux  moeurs  ". 


VIOLATION  OF  INDIVIDUALS  UNDER  AGE  OF  FOURTEEN.    523 

frequently  practised  fellatio.  He  is  in  an  asylum,  on 
account  of  paranoia.  It  had  been  his  greatest  pleasure 
to  entice  girls,  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age  and 
practise  cwmilingus  and  other  vile  acts  with  them.  In 
these  acts  he  had  orgasm  and  ejaculation. 

Masturbation  did  not  give  him  the  same  satisfaction, 
and  induced  ejaculation  only  with  difficulty.  Fautc  de 
mieux  he  also  practised /eZZaiio  with  men.  Occasionally  an 
exhibitionist.  Phimosis.  Asymmetrical  cranium  (Pelanda, 
"  Arch,  di  Psichiatria,"  x.,  fascic.  3,  4). 

Case  194.     X.,  priest,  aged  forty.     He  was  accused 

of  enticing  girls,  aged  from  ten  to  thirteen,  undressing 
and  fondling  them  lustfully,  and  finally  masturbating. 
He  is  tainted,  and  has  been  an  onanist  from  childhood  ; 
morally  imbecile  ;  always  very  excitable  sexually.  Head 
somewhat  small.  Penis  unusually  large  ;  indications  of 
hypospadiasis  {Pelanda,  loc  cit.). 

Case  195.  K.,  aged  twenty-three;  labourer.  He 
was  accused  and  convicted  of  repeatedly  enticing  boys, 
and  now  and  then  girls,  to  an  out-of-the-way  place, 
and  practising  abuses  with  them  (mutual  masturbation, 
fellatio  puerorum,   fondling  of  the   genitals  of  the  girls). 

K.  is  an  imbecile,  and  physically  deformed,  being 
scarcely  1"5  metres  tall ;  cranium  rachitic  and  hydro- 
cephalic ;  teeth  bad — furrowed,  defective,  and  irregular. 
Large  hps,  idiotic  expression,  stuttering  speech,  and  an 
awkward  attitude  complete  the  picture  of  psychophysical 
degeneration.  K.  behaves  like  a  child  discovered  in  some 
mischievous  act.  Scarcely  any  growth  of  beard.  Genitals 
well  and  normally  developed.  He  has  a  superficial  con- 
sciousness of  having  done  something  improper,  but  he 
is  unconscious  of  the  moral,  social,  and  legal  significance 
of  his  crimes. 

K.  comes  of  a  drunken  father,  and  a  mother  who 
became  insane  from  the  abuse  of  her  husband  and  died 


624  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

in  an  asylum.  In  his  babyhood  the  boy  was  ahxiost 
blinded  by  corneal  ulcers,  and,  after  his  sixth  year,  he 
grew  up  with  an  almoner,  and  later  with  difficulty  earned 
his  living  as  an  organ-grinder.  His  brother  is  good  for 
nothing,  and  the  culprit  himself  was  considered  a  surly, 
quarrelsome,  vicious,  moody,  irrital)le  man.  The  opinion 
emphasised  the  intellectual,  moral  and  physical  defect 
of  the  culprit. 

Unfortunately  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  most 
revolting  of  these  crimes  are  done  by  sane  individuals 
who,  by  reason  of  overindulgence  in  normal  sexual  acts, 
lasciviousness  and  brutahty,  and  not  seldom  whilst  intoxi- 
cated, forget  that  they  are  human  beings. 

A  great  number  of  these  cases,  however,  certainly 
depend  upon  pathological  states. 

A  review  of  the  psycho-pathological  cases  of  immorahty 
with  children  shows  that  the  largest  number  may  be 
reduced  to  conditions  of  acquired  mental  weakness.  First 
of  all  we  must  mention  dementia  senilis  ^  {Kirn,  "  Allg. 
Zeitschr.  f.  Psychiatrie,"  39,  p.  217),  then  chronic  alcohol- 
ism," paralysis,^  mental  debihty  due  to  epilepsy,*  injuries 
to  the  head  and  apoplexy,^  lues  cerebri.^  Then  follow  the 
original  mental  defects,"  and  states  of  degeneration.^ 

The  cause  for  these  offences  may  also  be  found  in 
states  of  morbid  unconsciousness. 

Not  infrequently  these  outrages  on  morality  are  due 

1  Cases,  No.  163,  IGd,  165  quoted  in  this  book. 

"^ Lcppmann,  "Die  Sachverstandigentlaiitigkeit,"  p.  96;  Lovihroso, 
"  Archivio  di  psichiatria,"  viii.,  p.  519. 

*  Cf.  supra,  page  451. 

*  Cases  152, 153,  supra ;  Liman,  "  Zweifelhafto  Geisteszustiinde,"  case  6. 
5  Cases  145,  146,  supra. 

^  Case  147,  supra. 

">  Casper's,  "  Klin.  Novellen,"  p.  161,  193,  272  ;  Leppmann,  op.  ciL, 
p.  115  ;  Henke's,  "  Zeitschr.,"  xxiii.,  "  Erganzungsh.,"  p.  147  ;  cf.  supra, 
pp.  445,  etc. ;  501,  etc. 

«  Vide  supra,  cases  174,  193,  194 ;  "  Vierteljahrsschr.  f.  gcr.  Med.," 
N.F.  xlix.,  2. 


VIOLATION  OF  INDIVIDUALS  UNDEE  AGE  OF  FOURTEEN.    525 

to  overindulgence  in  alcoholic  stimulants  or  epilepto- 
psychical  conditions  of  an  exceptional  character,  at  times 
also  to  error  sexus  aut  persona.  They  may  be  explained  on 
the  ground  of  the  sexual  excitement  concomitant  with 
these  conditions,  especially  in  epileptic  subjects.^  Eape 
and  pederasty  are  of  frequent  occurrences  under  these 
circumstances.  In  the  states  of  psychical  weakness  the 
point  whether  viriHty  is  at  command  decides  as  to  the 
quality  of  the  sexual  act. 

In  addition  to  the  aforesaid  categories  of  moral  rene- 
gades, and  those  afflicted  with  psychico-moral  weakness — 
be  this  congenital  or  superinduced  by  cerebral  disease  or 
episodical  mental  aberration — there  are  cases  m  which 
the  sexually  needy  subject  is  drawn  to  children  not  in 
consequence  of  degenerated  morality  or  psychical  or 
physical  impotence,  but  rather  by  a  morbid  disposition, 
a  psycho-sexual  perversion,  which  may  at  present  be  named 
pcedophilia  erotica.^ 

In  my  own  experience  I  have  come  across  four  cases 
only.  They  all  refer  to  men.  The  first  case  is  of  more 
value  than  the  others  for  it  appears  iuthe  form  of  platonic 
love  ;  but  it  manifests  its  sexual  character  in  the  fact  that 
this  (paranoic)  lover  of  children  is  only  stimulated  by 
little  girls.  He  is  quite  callous  towards  the  grown-up 
woman  and,  as  it  appears,  a  hair-fetichist.  (In  the  other 
cases  it  came  to  libidinous  acts.) 

Observation  No.  2.  represents  a  man  tainted  by  here- 
dity. Since  the  time  of  puberty  (which  came  very  late  at 
the  age  of  twenty-four)  sensual  emotions  towards  little 
girls  of  five  to  ten  years  of  age.  The  very  sight  of  such 
a  girl  brought  on  ejaculation  ;  a  touch  from  her  absolute 
sexual  paroxism  with  only  a  succinct  recollection  as  to 
its  duration.     The  marital  act  gave  a  slight  gratification, 

1  Vide  sup-a,  cases  149,  150,  154,  155,  156. 

-  Cf.  author's  original  article  in  Friedreich's  "  Blatter  f.  ger.  Med." 
1896. 


\ 
526  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

thus  enabling  him  to  control  his  desire  for  little  girls  for 
a  time.  But  a  heavy  neurasthenia  supervened  (chiefly 
due  to  coitus  interntptus)  when  he  became  a  criminal  either 
because  his  moral  powers  of  resistance  slackened,  or  his 
sexual  appetite  increased  in  volume. 

The  third  case  is  a  man  tainted  by  heredity  and 
constitutionally  neurasthenic ;  cranium  abnormal,  never 
had  a  normal  inclination  to  the  adult  woman ;  but  in 
coitus  was  like  an  animal  at  rutting  time.  To  immorally 
touch  little  girls  gave  this  man  the  highest  possible  plea- 
sure. He  became  paedophilic  only  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five. 

My  fourth  case  is  a  man,  tainted,  who  has  ever  found 
sexual  charm  only  in  immature  girls.  Mature  women 
had  but  little  attraction  for  him.  When  impotence  (e 
tabe  ?)  and  dementia  paralytica  set  in  he  could  no  longer 
resist  the  morbid  impulse. 

The  cases  quoted  here  under  the  head  of  "  pcedophilia 
erotica  "  in  the  sense  of  sexual  perversion  have  the  follow- 
ing traits  in  common  :— 

(1)  The  individual  afflicted  is  tainted. 

(2)  The  affection  for  immature  persons  of  the  opposite 
sex  is  of  a  primary  nature  (quite  in  opposition  to  the 
debauchee) ;  the  imaginary  representations  are  in  an  ab- 
normal manner  and  very  strongly  indeed  marked  by 
lustful  feelings. 

(3)  The  libidinous  acts — if  you  exclude  the  one  case 
in  which  virihty  was  present — consist  only  in  immodest 
touches  or  manustupration  of  the  victim.  Nevertheless 
they  adduce  the  gratification  of  the  subject,  even  though 
ejaculation  be  not  attained. 

The  following  cases  taken  from  Magnan  ("  Lectures 
on  Psychiatry  ")  show  clearly  that  this  pcedophilia  erotica 
occurs  also  in  women. 

Magnan  s  first  case  is  a  lady  twenty-nine  years  of  age, 
tainted  by  heredity ;  has  delusions  and  phobias. 


VIOLATION  OF  INDIVIDUALS  UNDEE  AGE  OF  FOURTEEN,    527 

Since  eight  years  strong  desire  for  sexual  union  with 
one  of  her  (five)  nephews.  First  her  desire  is  directed 
towards  the  oldest  when  he  was  five  years  of  age.  She 
transferred  this  desire  to  each  of  them  in  turn  as  they 
grew  up.  The  sight  of  the  child  in  question  was  sufficient 
to  produce  orgasm  and  even  pollution.  She  was  able  to 
resist  her  inclination,  which  she  cannot  explain.  She  had 
no  inclination  for  mature  men. 

The  second  case  is  a  women  thirty-two  years  of  age, 
mother  of  two  children ;  heavily  tainted  by  heredity ; 
separated  from  her  husband  on  account  of  brutal  treat- 
ment. 

For  several  months  she  had  neglected  her  children, 
had  visited  a  friend's  house  every  day,  and  always  at  the 
time  when  the  son  of  the  house  was  returnincr  from 
school.  She  hugged  and  kissed  the  child,  and  at  times 
said  that  she  was  in  love  with  him  and  wanted  to  marry 
him. 

One  day  she  told  his  mother  that  the  boy  was  ill  and 
unhappy.  She  wanted  to  cohabit  with  him  in  order  to 
cure  him. 

She  was  forbidden  the  house,  but  laid  siege  to  it. 

One  day  she  tried  to  force  her  way  in,  when  she  was 
sent  to  an  asylum,  where  she  continued  to  rave  about  the 
boy. 

That  padophilia  erotica  may  occur  periodically  is  de- 
monstrated by  Anjel's  observation  (vide  sjipra,  cases  158 
and  159). 

In  the  sphere  of  antipathic  sexual  instinct  this  perver- 
sion is  by  no  means  rare.  In  the  same  measure  in  which 
the  former  is  an  equivalent  of  the  heterosexual  instinct, 
so  in  this  instance  the  predilection  for  the  immature  is 
equally  abnormal  and  exceptional.  Practically  speaking, 
acts  of  immorality  committed  on  boys  by  men  sexually 
inverted  are  of  the  greatest  rarity. 

I  have  already  laid  stress  upon  this  fact  in  my 
pamphlet  "  Der  contrar  Sexuale  vor  dem   Strafrichter," 


528  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

second  edition,  p.  9.  I  have  pointed  out  there  that  the 
real  seducer  of  youth  is  the  weak-minded  man,  though 
born  sexually  normal ;  the  roue  who  is  impotent  or  at 
least  sexually  perverted  and  morally  depraved  ;  the  senile 
man  who  is  morally  enfeebled  but  sexually  excited. 

Under  such  accidental  conditions,  the  sexually  in- 
verted individual  may  also  eventually  become  a  danger  to 
boys  (c/.  case  106  of  the  present  and  109  of  the  ninth 
edition  of  this  book) ;  but  this  has  nothing  to  do  with 
padophilia,  for  the  very  reason  that  in  these  cases  the 
boys  were  puhertati  proximi,  whilst  in  cases  of  genuine 
pcEclophilia  the  subject  is  drawn  only  to  the  sexually  quite 
immature.  The  second  case  of  Macjnan  seems  to  be  the 
most  instructive  in  this  regard,  for  in  it  the  desire  turned 
in  each  instance  from  the  older  boy  to  the  younger  one  as 
he  grew  to  the  age  of  three  to  five  years. 

The  following  case,  reported  by  Pacotte  and  Raynaud 
("Archives  d'Anthropologie  criminelle,"  x.,  p.  435),  may 
be  looked  upon  as  a  proof  that  pcedophilia  erotica  may  also 
occur  in  cases  of  antipathic  sexuality. 

Case  196.  X.,  thirty-six  years  of  age,  journalist; 
heavily  tainted  by  heredity ;  ethically  and  intellectually 
defective;  since  early  youth  afflicted  with  epileptoid  spells; 
intolerant  of  alcohol ;  face  asymmetrical ;  never  cared 
for  woman  ;  masturbated  since  he  was  eighteen ;  attempts 
at  coitus  found  him  cold  and  impotent. 

But  boys  of  ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age  excited  him 
very  much.  Although  he  was  conscious  of  the  criminality 
of  the  act,  he  could  not  resist  the  impulse  to  poBdicate 
with  them.  Oftentimes  he  was  sated  with  their  "enchant- 
ing looks  and  their  sweet  smiles  ". 

Neither  the  adult  nor  little  girls  possessed  any  charms 
for  him.  Only  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  when  a  boy  of 
twelve  years  old  forced  sexual  intercourse  upon  him,  he 
became  psedophific.  At  that  time  he  refused  his  seducer, 
but  soon  he  could  resist  no  longer  the  desire  awakened  in 


VIOLATION  OF  INDIVIDUALS  UNDER  AGE  OF  FOURTEEN.    529 

him  by  that  incident,  although  he  was  repeatedly  sen- 
tenced and  imprisoned  for  this  offence.  His  life  was 
blighted  by  this  unfortunate  weakness,  and  he  made 
several  attempts  at  suicide. 

Expert  opinion  established  congenital  sexual  inver- 
sion, and,  within  the  limits  of  homosexuality,  a  special 
anomaly,  viz.,  exclusive  love  for  boys  of  a  certain  age  and 
of  delicate  constitution. 

It  was  claimed  that  degenerative  mental  disturbance 
affected  the  soundness  of  his  mind  and  rendered  him  a 
danger  to  the  community. 

X.  was  inconsolable  over  the  result  of  his  trial,  for  he 
was  sent  to  an  insane  asylum.  He  had  anticipated  a  free 
pardon. 

It  is  impossible  to  deduce  from  the  real  facts  of  a 
'pcedoj)hilia  erotica  the  claim  of  impunity  for  offences 
resulting  from  it ;  for  in  all  cases  thus  far  observed  the 
absolute  control  over  the  psedophilic  impulse  succeeded 
in  every  instance  until  a  pathological  condition  either 
weakened  or  completely  suspended  the  moral  power  of 
resistance. 

Very  instructive  in  this  regard  are  the  cases  observed 
by  myself,  in  which,  despite  of  taint  and  sexual  perver- 
sion, the  morbid  impulse  remained  under  control  until  a 
third  factor  was  added  to  these. 

In  the  second  and  third  case  this  happened  through 
an  attack  of  neicrasthenia  gravis,  in  the  fourth  through 
dementia  paralytica. 

At  any  rate,  the  proof  that  a  current  of  morbid  sexual 
impulse  in  the  sense  of  pcedophilia  erotica  is  present  and 
constitutes  an  ex  parte  symptom  of  taint  should  always  be 
considered  on  the  ground  of  ameliorating  circumstances. 


34 


530  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

7.  Unnatural  Abuse  (Sodomy). ^ 

(Austrian  Statutes,  §  129  ;  Abridgment,  §  190  ;  German  Statutes,  §  175.) 

(a)  Violation  of  Animals  (Bestiality).^ 

Violation  of  animals,  monstrous  and  revolting  as  it 
seems  to  mankind,  is  by  no  means  always  due  to  psycho- 
pathological  conditions.  Low  morality  and  great  sexual 
desire,  with  lack  of  opportunity  for  natural  indulgence, 
are  the  principal  motives  of  this  unnatural  means  of 
sexual  satisfaction,  which  is  resorted  to  by  women  as  well 
as  by  men. 

To  Polak  we  owe  the  knowledge  that  in  Persia  bestial- 
ity is  frequently  practised  because  of  the  delusion  that 
it  cures  gonorrhoea  ;  just  as  in  Europe  an  idea  is  still 
prevalent  that  intercourse  with  children  heals  venereal 
disease. 

Experience  teaches  that  bestiality  with  cows  and 
horses  is  none  too  infrequent.  Occasionally  the  acts  may 
be  undertaken  with  goats,  bitches,  and,  as  a  case  of 
Tardictis  and  one  by  Schauenstein  show  ("  Lehrb.,"  p. 
125),  with  hens. 

The  action  of  Frederick  the  Great,  in  the  case  of  a 

1 1  follow  the  usual  terminology  in  describing  bestiality  and  pederasty 
under  the  general  term  of  sodomy.  In  Genesis  (chap,  xix.),  whence  this 
word  comes,  it  signifies  exclusively  the  vice  of  pederasty.  Later,  sodomy 
was  often  used  synonymously  with  bestiality.  The  moral  theologians,  like 
St.  Alphons  of  Ligouri,  Gury,  and  others,  have  always  distinguished 
correctly,  i.e.,  in  the  sense  of  Genesis,  between  sodomia,  i.e.,  concubitus 
cum  persona  ejusdem  sexus,  and  bestialitas,  i.e.,  concubitus  cum  bestia 
(cf.  Olfers,  "  Pastoralmedicin,"  p.  78). 

The  jurists  brought  confusion  into  the  terminology  by  establishing  a 
"  Sodomia  ratione  sexus  "  and  a  "  S.  ratione  generis  ".  Science,  however, 
should  here  assert  itself  as  ancilla  tJieologics,  and  return  to  the  correct 
usage  of  words. 

2  For  interesting  histories,  vide  Krauss,  "  Psychol,  d.  Verbrechens," 
p.  180 ;  Maschka,  "  Hdb.  iii.,  p.  188  ;  Hofmann,  "  T;ehrb.  d.  ger.  Med.,"  p. 
180;  Rosenhaum,  "  Die  Lustseuche,"  5th  edition,  1892. 


UNNATURAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.  531 

cavalryman  who  had  committed  bestiality  with  a  mare, 
is  well-known  :  "  The  fellow  is  a  pig,  and  shall  be  reduced 
to  the  infantry  ". 

The  intercourse  of  females  with  beasts  is  limited  to 
dogs.  A  monstrous  example  of  the  moral  depravity  in 
large  cities  is  related  by  Maschka  ("  Handb.,"  iii.,)  it  is 
the  case  of  a  Parisian  female  who  showed  herself  in  the 
sexual  act  with  a  trained  bull- dog,  to  a  secret  circle  of 
roues,  at  ten  francs  a  head. 

Case  197.  In  a  provincial  town  a  man  was  caught 
in  intercourse  with  a  hen.  He  was  thirty  years  old,  and 
of  high  social  position.  The  chickens  had  been  dying  one 
after  another,  and  the  man  causing  it  had  been  "  wanted  " 
for  a  long  time.  To  the  question  of  the  judge,  as  to  the 
reason  for  such  an  act,  the  accused  said  that  his  genitals 
were  so  small  that  coitus  with  women  was  impossible. 
Medical  examination  showed  that  actually  the  genitals 
were  extremely  small.     The  man  was  mentally  quite  soimd. 

There  were  no  statements  concerning  any  abnormali- 
ties at  the  time  of  puberty,  etc.  {Gyurkovechky,  "  Mannl. 
Impotenz,"  1889,  p.  82). 

Case  198.  On  the  afternoon  of  23rd  September, 
1889,  W.,  aged  sixteen,  shoemaker's  apprentice,  caught 
a  goose  in  a  neighbour's  garden,  and  committed  bestiality 
on  the  fowl  until  the  neighbour  approached.  On  being 
accused  by  the  neighbour,  W.  said,  "Well!  Is  there 
anything  wrong  with  the  goose  ?  "  and  then  went  away. 
At  his  examination  he  confessed  the  act,  but  excused 
himself  on  the  ground  of  temporary  loss  of  mind.  Since 
a  severe  illness  in  his  twelfth  year,  he  several  times  a 
month  had  attacks,  with  heat  in  his  head,  in  which  he 
was  intensely  excited  sexually,  could  not  help  himself, 
and  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing.  He  had  done  the 
act  during  such  an  attack,  He  answered  for  himself 
in  the  same  way  at  the  trial,  and  stated   that  he  knew 


532  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

nothing  of  the  sj)ecies  facti  except  from  the  statements 
of  the  neighbour.  His  father  states  that  W.,  who  comes 
of  a  healthy  family,  had  always  been  sickly  since  an  attack 
of  scarlatina  in  his  fifth  year,  and  that,  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  he  had  a  febrile  cerebral  disease.  W.  had  a  good 
reputation,  learned  well  in  school,  and  later  helped  his 
father  in  his  work.     He  was  not  given  to  masturbation. 

The  medical  examination  revealed  no  intellectual  or 
moral  defect.  The  physical  examination  revealed  nor- 
mal genitals  ;  penis  relatively  greatly  developed ;  marked 
exaggeration  of  the  patellar  reflexes.  In  other  respects, 
negative  result. 

The  history  of  the  condition  at  the  time  of  the  deed 
was  not  to  be  depended  upon.  There  was  no  proof  of 
previous  attacks  of  mental  disturbance,  and  there  were 
none  during  the  six  weeks  of  observation.  There  was 
no  perversion  of  the  vita  sexualis.  The  medical  opinion 
allowed  the  possibility  that  some  organic  cause  (cerebral 
congestion),  dependent  upon  cerebral  disease,  may  have 
exercised  an  influence  at  the  time  of  the  commission  of 
the  criminal  act  (from  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Fritsch,  of 
Vienna). 

But  there  is  another  group  of  cases  falling  well  within 
the  category  of  bestiality,  in  which  decidedly  a  patho- 
logical basis  exists,  indicated  by  heavy  taint,  constitutional 
neuroses,  impotence  for  the  normal  act,  impulsive  manner 
of  performing  the  unnatural  act.  Perhaps  it  would  serve 
a  purpose  to  put  such  cases  under  the  heading  of  a  special 
appellation;  for  instance,  to  use  the  term  "bestiahty"  for 
those  cases  which  are  not  of  a  pathological  character,  and 
the  term  "  Zooerasty  "  for  those  of  a  pathological  nature. 

Case  199.  Impulsive  sodomy.  A.,  aged  sixteen  ; 
gardener's  boy;  born  out  of  wedlock;  father  unknown  ; 
mother  deeply  tainted,  hystero-epileptic.  A.  has  a  de- 
formed, asymmetrical  cranium,  and  deformity  and  asym- 


UNNATURAL    ABUSE — SODOMY.  533 

metry  of  the  bones  of  the  face ;  the  whole  skeleton  is  also 
deformed,  asymmetrical  and  small.  From  childhood  he 
was  a  mastm'bator ;  always  morose,  apathetic,  and  fond 
of  solitude;  very  irritable,  and  pathological  in  his  emotional 
reaction.  He  is  an  imbecile,  probably  much  reduced 
physically  by  masturbation,  and  neurasthenic.  Besides, 
he  presents  hysteropathic  symptoms  (limitation  of  the 
visual  field,  dyschromatopsia ;  diminution  of  the  senses  of 
smell,  taste  and  hearing  on  the  right  side ;  anaesthesia  of 
the  right  testicle,  clavus,  etc.). 

A.  is  convicted  of  having  committed  masturbation  and 
sodomy  on  dogs  and  rabbits.  When  twelve  years  old  he 
saw  how  boys  masturbated  a  dog.  He  imitated  it,  and 
thereafter  he  could  not  keep  from  abusing  dogs,  cats  and 
rabbits  in  this  vile  manner.  Much  more  frequently,  how- 
ever, he  committed  sodomy  on  female  rabbits, — the  only 
animals  that  had  a  charm  for  him.  At  dusk  he  was 
accustomed  to  repair  to  his  master's  rabbit-pen  in  order 
to  gratify  his  vile  desire.  Babbits  with  torn  rectums  were 
repeatedly  found.  The  act  of  bestiality  was  always  done 
in  the  same  manner.  There  were  actual  attacks  which 
came  on  every  eight  weeks,  always  in  the  evening,  and 
always  in  the  same  way.  A.  would  become  very  uncom- 
fortable, and  have  a  feeling  as  if  some  one  were  pounding 
his  head.  He  felt  as  if  losing  his  reason.  He  struggled 
against  the  imperative  idea  of  committing  sodomy  with 
the  rabbits,  and  thus  had  an  increasing  feehng  of  fear  and 
intensification  of  headache  until  it  became  unbearable.  At 
the  height  of  the  attack  there  were  sounds  of  bells,  cold 
perspiration,  trembhng  of  the  knees,  and,  finally,  loss  of 
resi&tive  power,  and  impulsive  performance  of  the  perverse 
act.  As  soon  as  this  was  done  he  lost  all  anxiety ;  the 
nervous  cycle  was  completed,  and  he  was  again  master  of 
himself,  deeply  ashamed  of  the  deed,  and  fearful  of  the 
return  of  an  attack.  A.  states  that,  in  such  a  condition,  if 
called  upon  to  choose  between  a  woman  and  n  female 
rabbit,  he  could  make  choice  only  of  the  latter.     In  the 


534  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

intervals,  also,  of  all  domestic  animals  he  is  partial  only 
to  rabbits.  In  his  exceptional  states  simple  caressing  or 
kissing,  etc.,  of  the  rabbit  suffices,  as  a  rule,  to  afford  him 
sexual  satisfaction ;  but  sometimes  he  has,  when  doing 
this,  such  furor  sexualis  that  he  is  forced  to  wildly  perform 
sodomy  on  the  animal. 

The  acts  of  bestiahty  mentioned  are  the  only  acts 
which  afford  him  sexual  satisfaction,  and  they  constitute 
the  only  manner  in  which  he  is  capable  of  sexual  indul- 
gence. A.  declares  that,  in  the  act,  he  never  had  a  lustful 
feeling,  but  satisfaction  only,  inasmuch  as  he  was  thus 
freed  from  the  painful  condition  into  which  he  was  brought 
by  the  imperative  impulse. 

The  medical  evidence  easily  proved  that  this  human 
monster  was  a  psychically  degenerate,  irresponsible  in- 
valid, and  not  a  criminal  {Boeteau,  "  La  France  medicale," 
38th  year,  No.  38). 

Case  200.  X.,  peasant,  aged  forty  ;  Greek-Catholic. 
Father  aijd  mother  were  hard  drinkers.  Since  his  fifth 
year  patient  has  had  epileptic  convulsions — i.e.,  he  falls 
down  unconscious,  lies  still  two  or  three  minutes,  and 
then  gets  up  and  runs  aimlessly  about  with  staring  eyes. 
Sexuahty  was  first  manifested  at  seventeen.  The  patient 
had  inclinations  neither  for  women  nor  for  men,  but  for 
animals  (birds,  horses,  etc.).  He  had  intercourse  with 
hens  and  ducks,  and  later  with  horses  and  cows.  Never 
any  onanism. 

The  patient  paints  pictures  of  saints  ;  is  of  very  Hmited 
intelligence.  For  years,  religious  paranoia,  with  states  of 
ecstasy.  He  has  an  "inexplicable"  love  for  the  Virgin, 
for  whom  he  would  sacrifice  his  life.  Taken  to  hospital,  he 
proves  to  be  free  from  infirmity  and  signs  of  anatomical 
degeneration. 

He  always  had  an  aversion  for  women.  In  a  single 
attempt  at  coitus  with  a  woman  he  was  impotent,  but 
with  animals  he  was  always  potent.     He  is  bashful  before 


UNNATURAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.  535 

women  ;  coitus  with  women  he  regards  ahnost  as  a  sin 
{KowalciDsky ,  "  Jahrb.  f.  Psychiatrie,"  vii.,  Heft  3). 

Case  201.  T.,  thirty-five  years  of  age.  Father  an 
inebriate ;  mother  psychopathic.  Never  had  a  severe 
illness  ;  never  showed  special  peculiarities.  At  the  age  of 
nine  immorality  with  a  hen  ;  later  on  with  other  domestic 
animals.  When  he  began  to  have  sexual  relations  with 
women  his  bestial  desires  disappeared.  Married  when 
twenty,  and  found  sexual  satisfaction. 

When  twenty-seven  he  began  to  drink.  Then  his 
former  perverse  inclinations  were  awakened.  One  day  he 
took  a  she-goat  to  a  neighbouring  village  to  have  her 
covered.  He  felt  a  strong  desire  to  commit  sodomy  with 
her,  but  he  at  first  overcame  the  impulse.  Palpitation  of 
the  heart,  pain  in  the  chest,  and  a  violent  orgasm  made 
him  succumb.  T.  declares  that  these  bestial  acts  gave 
him  greater  lustful  gratification  than  coitus  cum  femina. 

His  acts  of  bestiality  remained  unnoticed.  He  was 
finally  sent  to  an  insane  asylum  on  account  of  delirium 
tremens,  when,  during  his  examination  upon  admission, 
he  made  the  above  revelations  {Boissier  et  Lachaux,  "Annal. 
medico-psychol.,"  July- August,  1893,  p.  381). 

In  the  explanation  of  zooerasty  great  difficulties  are 
encountered.  The  attempt  to  reduce  it  to  fetichism,  as  is 
possible  in  zoophilia  erotica  {cf.  p.  267),  has  utterly  failed. 

It  is  questionable  whether  zoophilia  can  ever  lead  to 
sexual  acts  with  beasts  (eventually  bestiahty).  If  it  be  in 
reality  a  fetichistic  manifestation,  this  possibility  cannot 
be  based  upon  the  present  knowledge  of  fetichism. 

Even  in  the  case  of  zoophilia  erotica  fetischistica  (p. 
267),  acts  of  bestiality  were  never  committed;  in  fact,  the 
sex  of  the  animals  there  in  question  was  never  considered. 
The  only  thing  that  at  present  can  be  done  is  to  consider 
zooerasty  as  an  original  perversion  of  the  vita  sexualis, 
and  place  it  on  the  same  level  with  antipathic  sexuality. 


536  PSTCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

The  following  case,  although  it  is  only  rudimentary 
and  abortive,  seems  to  support  this  theory  and  to  establish 
complete  unconsciousness  of  the  motive  of  the  impulse. 

Case  202.  Y.,  tv^enty  years  of  age,  intelligent, 
well  educated ;  claims  to  be  free  from  taint  by  heredity ; 
physically  sound  except  evidences  of  neurasthenia  and 
hypercBstlicsia  urethroi;  says  he  never  masturbated.  Always 
fond  of  animals,  especially  dogs  and  horses.  Since  the 
age  of  puberty  increased  love  for  animals,  but  sexual 
ideas  in  connection  with  sport  seem  to  have  been  absent. 

One  day  when  he  mounted  a  mare  for  the  first  time 
he  experienced  a  sensation  of  lust ;  two  weeks  later,  on  a 
similar  occasion,  the  same  sensation  with  erection. 

During  his  first  ride  he  had  ejaculation.  A  month 
after  the  same  thing  happened.  Patient  feels  disgusted 
at  the  occurrence,  and  is  angry  with  himself.  He  gave 
up  the  saddle.     But  from  now  on  pollutions  almost  daily. 

When  he  sees  men  on  horseback,  or  dogs,  he  has 
erections.  Almost  every  night  he  has  pollutions  accom- 
panied by  dreams  in  which  he  rides  on  horseback  or  is 
training  dogs.     Patient  comes  for  medical  advice. 

Treatment  with  sounds  removed  the  hypcrcesthesia 
urethra  and  diminished  pollutions.  The  patient  followed 
reluctantly  the  advice  of  the  physician  to  have  coitus, 
partly  on  account  of  dislike  for  women,  partly  on  account 
of  diffidence  in  his  virihty. 

He  made  abortive  attempts  at  coitus,  but  could  not 
even  bring  about  an  erection,  which,  however,  took 
place  the  moment  he  saw  a  man  on  horseback.  This 
depressed  him ;  he  considered  his  condition  abnormal 
beyond  remedy. 

Continued  medical  treatment.  A  further  attempt  at 
coitus  was  successful  with  the  assistance  of  fancied  images 
of  riders  and  dogs,  which  stimulated  erection. 

Patient  grew  more  virile  ;  his  love  for  animals  waned ; 
erections  at  the  sight  of   riders   and   dogs   disappeared, 


UNNATURAL    ABUSE — SODOMY.  537 

nocturnal  pollutions  with  dreams  of  animals  became  less 
frequent ;  he  dreamed  now  of  girls.  Erection,  which  at 
first  did  not  support  ejaculatio  2)rcccox,  and  pathological 
coitus  grew  normal  under  treatment  with  sounds  Patient 
now  finds  sexual  gratification,  and  is  freed  from  his  ab- 
normal sexual  impulse  (Dr.  Hanc,  "  Wien.  med.  Blatter," 
1887,  No.  5). 

The  preceding  case  justifies  the  assumption  of  an 
original  perversion,  for  instead  of  the  idea  of  the  normal 
object  (woman),  it  is  the  idea  of  animals  (dogs  and  horses) 
frequently  seen  which  awalvens  sexual  feelings  and  desires. 
There  may  have  been  a  latent  sadistic  element  in  the 
case,  for,  at  least  in  the  vita  sexualis  of  the  dreams,  the 
riding  of  horses  and  the  training  of  dogs  played  a  prom- 
inent part. 

The  following  case,  that  of  a  stiqvator  hestiarum,  is  of 
pathological  interest. 

Case  203.  Mr.  X.,  forty-seven  years  of  age,  of  high 
social  position,  came  to  me  for  advice  on  account  of  a 
troublesome  anomaly  of  his  vita  sexualis.  He  is  about 
to  be  married  and  in  his  present  condition  considers  it 
morally  impossible  to  enter  upon  matrimony. 

X.  is  evidently  heavily  tainted — his  father,  two  of  his 
sisters  and  one  brother  are  highly  neurotic.  The  mother 
is  presumed  to  have  been  a  healthy  woman. 

The  sexual  instinct  awoke  early  in  X. ;  he  began  to 
masturbate  spontaneously  at  the  age  of  eleven. 

He  is  decidedly  hypersexual,  practised  masturbation 
with  passion,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  forgot  him- 
self so  far  as  to  sodomise  bitches,  mares  and  other  fe- 
male animals.  He  ascribed  these  acts  to  excessive  sexual 
desire  and  to  want  of  opportunity  to  satisfy  his  cravin^^s 
in  the  normal  way — he  spent  his  childhood  and  boyhood 
in  a  lonely  part  of  the  country  and  later  on  he  visited 
a  boarding  school. 


538  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

X.  admits  that  he  was  quite  conscious  of  the  abomin- 
ation of  his  acts,  and  says  that  he  fought  with  all  his 
will  power  against  these  bestial  impulses.  But  the  greed, 
the  lust,  the  pleasure  which  they  gave  always  over- 
powered him.  When  grown  up  to  manhood  he  never 
had  homosexual  desires,  nor  did  he  feel  an  inclination 
for  woman. 

Up  to  this  part  of  his  confession  the  opinion  seems 
justified  that  his  bestiality  was  not  a  perversion,  but  only 
a  perversity  which  found  root  in  his  habits. 

But  it  strikes  one  as  peculiar  that  his  erotic  dreams 
were  always  about  bestial  intercourse,  and  that  when  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  he  sought  to  improve  bis  condition 
by  coitus  cum  muliere,  he  derived  not  the  slightest  gratifi- 
cation from  it,  although  he  was  quite  potent  and  the 
puella  pleasing  and  sympathetic. 

He  had  the  same  experience  at  other  attempts  which 
he  repeatedly  made  during  the  subsequent  twenty-two 
years.  He  describes  coitus  as  a  mere  mechanical  act 
devoid  of  lustful  excitement.  He  might  as  well  have 
coitus  with  a  piece  of  wood.  It  simply  disgusted  him, 
whilst  cum  bestia  he  experienced  the  height  of  pleasure. 

The  mere  sight  of  animals  excited  him  wildly.  The 
society  of  ladies  caused  him  ennui.  When  he  went  with 
a  girl  she  had  to  resort  to  all  kinds  of  manipulations  to 
prepare  him  for  the  act. 

For  two  months  previous  to  his  first  visit  to  me  X. 
had  exerted  all  his  will  power  to  resist  the  impulses  to 
masturbation   and  bestiality. 

He  is  physically  a  pecuhar  being,  evidently  a  degdnere 
sttpdriaur.  There  are  no  symptoms  of  anatomical  degener- 
ation, no  traces  of  neurasthenia. 

I  made  strong  suggestions  to  be  on  his  guard  against 
masturbation  and  bestiality,  to  seek  more  the  society  of 
ladies,  prescribed  antaphrodisiacs,  advised  frugality,  slight 
hydrotherapy,  plenty  of  open-air  exercise,  steady  occupa- 
tion, and  had  the  satisfaction  to  learn  that  the  patient  at 


UNNATURAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.  539 

the  end  of  ten  months  experienced  a  sHght  gratification 
in  repeated  sexual  intercourse  cum  femina  and  that  he  was 
ahxiost  free  from  his  former  perverse  desires. 

An  analogous  case  is  reported  by  Moll,  "  Libido 
sexualis,"  p.  421. 

Another  remarkable  case  of  zooerasty  is  published  by 
Howard  ("  Ahenist  and  Neurologist,"  1896,  vol.  xvii.,  1.). 
It  refers  to  a  young  man  of  sixteen  years  of  age  who 
found  sexual  gratification  only  with  pigs. 

The  rarity  of  cases  of  real  zooerasty  seems  to  be 
remarkable.  But  this  may  be  explained  by  the  ease  with 
which  they  are  kept  secret. 

The  forensically  important  distinction  between  bestial- 
ity and  zooerasty  can  never  be  difficult  in  coiicreto. 

Whoever  seeks  and  finds  sexual  gratification  exclusively 
with  animals,  although  the  opportunities  for  the  normal 
act  are  at  hand,  must  at  once  be  suspected  of  a  patho- 
logical condition  of  the  sexual  instinct.  At  any  rate  more 
so  than  the  sexually  inverted  person,  for  in  sexual  acts 
with  animals  the  psychical  infection  is  wanting,  i.e.,  the 
possil)ility  of  the  perversion  of  one  part  leading  to  the 
perversity  of  the  other. 

It  may  be  assumed,  however,  that  the  number  of  cases 
of  zooerasty  as  compared  with  those  of  sexual  inversion 
is  unequally  smaller.  This  follows  a  'priori  from  the 
character  of  both  these  perversions.  The  zooerast  as 
compared  with  the  sexual  invert  is  much  farther  removed 
from  the  normal  object.  This  would  qualify  the  perver- 
sion of  the  former  as  a  much  graver  condition — because 
more  degenerative — than  that  of  the  latter. 


^fci"- 


(b)  With  Persons  of  the  Same  Sex  (Pederasty ;  Sodomy 
in  its  Strict  Sense). 

German    law    takes    cognizance    of    unnatural    sexual 
relations  only  between  men  ;  Austrian,  between  those  of 


540  PSTCnOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

the  same  sex  ;  and  therefore,  unnatural  relations  between 
women  are  punishable. 

Among  the  immoralities  between  men,  pederasty 
(immissio  penis  in  anum)  claims  the  principal  interest.  In- 
deed, the  jurist  thought  only  of  this  perversity  of  sexual 
activity  ;  and,  according  to  the  opinions  of  distinguished 
interpreters  of  the  law  {Oppenhoff,  "  Stgsb.,"  Berlin,  1872 
p.  324,  and  Budolf  and  Stenglein,  "  D.  Strafgesb.  f.  d. 
Deutsche  Keich,"  1881,  p.  423),  immissio  penis  in  corpus 
vivum  must  take  place  to  establish  the  criminal  act  covered 
by  §175. 

According  to  this  interpretation,  legal  punishment 
would  not  follow  other  improper  acts  between  male  per- 
sons, so  long  as  they  were  not  complicated  with  offence  to  public 
decency,  with  force,  or  undertaken  with  boys  under  the  age  of 
fourteen.  Of  late  this  interpretation  has  again  been  aban- 
doned, and  the  crime  of  unnatural  abuse  between  men 
is  assumed  to  have  been  committed  when  merely  acts 
similar  to  cohabitation  are  performed.^ 

The  study  of  antipathic  sexual  instinct  has  placed  male 
love  for  males  in  a  very  different  light  from  that  in  which 
it,  and  particularly  pederasty,  stood  at  the  time  the 
statutes  were  framed.  The  fact  that  there  is  no  doubt 
about  the  pathological  basis  of  many  cases  of  inverted 
sexual  instinct  shows  that  pederasty  may  also  be  the  act 
of  an  irresponsible  person,  and  makes  it  necessary,  in 
court,  to  examine  not  merely  the  deed,  but  also  the 
mental  condition  of  the  perpetrator. 

The  principles  laid  down  previously  must  also  here  be 

1  How  difficult,  unpleasant,  and  dangerous  it  may  be  for  the  judge  to 
form  a  proper  judgment  of  these  "  coitus-like  "  acts  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  objective  fact  of  the  crime  is  well  shown  by  an  article  on  the 
punishableness  of  male  intercourse,  in  the  "  Zeitschr.  f.  d.  gesammte 
Strafrechtswissenschaft.,"  Bd.  vii.,  Heft  1,  as  well  as  by  a  similar  one  in 
Friedreich's  "  Blatter  f.  ger.  Medicin,  1891,  Heft  6.  Vide,  further,  Moll, 
"  Contrare  Sexualempfindung,  p.  22.3  ct  seq.,  and  Bernliardi,  "  Der  Uranis- 
mus,"  Berlin,  1895;  van  Erkelens,  "  Strafgesetz  u.  widernatiirl.  Unzucht," 
Berlin,  1895 


UNNATURAL    ABUSE — SODOMY.  541 

adhered  to.  Not  the  deed,  but  only  an  anthropological 
and  clinical  judgment  of  the  perpetrator  can  permit  a 
decision  as  to  whether  we  have  to  do  with  a  perversity 
deserving  punishment,  or  with  an  abnormal  perversion  of 
the  mental  and  sexual  life,  which,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, excludes  punishment. 

The  next  legal  question  to  settle  is  whether  the  anti- 
pathic sexual  feeling  is  congenital  or  acquired  ;  and,  in 
the  latter  case,  whether  it  is  a  pathological  perversion  or 
a  moral  perversity. 

Congenital  sexual  inversion  occurs  only  in  predisposed 
(tainted)  individuals,  as  a  partial  manifestation  of  a  defect 
evidenced  by  anatomical  or  functional  abnormalities,  or  by 
both.  The  case  becomes  clearer  and  the  diagnosis  more 
certain  if  the  individual,  in  character  and  disposition, 
seems  to  correspond  entirely  with  his  sexual  peculiarity ; 
if  the  inclination  toward  persor^  of  the  opposite  sex  is 
entirely  wanting,  or  horror  of  sexual  intercourse  with 
them  is  felt ;  and  if  the  individual,  in  the  impulses  to 
satisfy  the  antipathic  sexual  instinct, shows  other  anomalies 
of  the  sexual  sphere,  such  as  more  pronounced  degenera- 
tion in  the  form  of  periodicity  of  the  impulse  and  impul- 
sive conduct,  and  is  a  neuropathic  and  psychopathic 
person. 

Another  question  concerns  the  mental  condition  of 
the  urning.  If  this  be  such  as  to  remove  the  possibility 
of  moral  responsibility,  then  the  pederast  is  not  a  criminal, 
but  an  irresponsible  insane  person. 

This  condition  is  apparently  less  frequent  in  congenital 
urnings.  As  a  rule,  these  cases  present  elementary  psy- 
chical disturbances  which  do  not  remove  responsibility. 

But  this  does  not  settle  the  question  of  responsibility 
in  the  urning.  The  sexual  instinct  is  one  of  the  most 
powerful  organic  needs.  There  is  no  law  that  looks  upon 
its  satisfaction  outside  of  marriage  as  punishable  in  itself; 
if  the  urning  feels  perversely,  it  is  not  his  fault,  but  the 
fault     of  an  abnormal   condition   natural    to  him.      His 


542  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

sexual  instinct  may  be  aesthetically  very  repugnant,  but, 
from  his  morbid  standpoint,  it  is  natural.  And  again,  in 
the  majority  of  these  unfortunates  the  perverse  sexual 
instinct  is  abnormally  intense,  and  their  consciousness 
recognises  it  as  nothing  unnatural.  Thus  moral  and 
aesthetic  ideas  fail  to  assist  them  in  resisting  the  instinct. 

Innumerable  normally  constituted  men  are  in  a  posi- 
tion to  renounce  the  gratification  of  their  libido  w^ithout 
suffering  from  it  in  health.  Many  neuropathic  indi- 
viduals,— and  urnings  are  almost  always  neuropathic, — 
on  the  contrary,  become  nervously  ill  when  they  do  not 
satisfy  the  sexual  desire,  either  as  Nature  prompts  or  in  a 
way  that  to  them  is  perverse. 

The  majority  of  urnings  are  in  a  painful  situation. 
On  the  one  hand,  there  is  an  impulse  toward  persons  of 
their  own  sex  that  is  abnormally  intense,  the  gratification 
of  which  has  a  good  effect,  and  is  natural  to  them  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  public  sentiment,  which  stigmatises 
their  acts,  and  the  law  which  threatens  them  with  dis- 
graceful punishment.  Before  them  lies  mental  despair, — 
even  insanity  and  suicide, — at  the  very  least,  nervous 
disease ;  behind  them,  shame,  loss  of  position,  etc.  It 
cannot  be  doubted  that,  under  these  circumstances,  states 
of  stress  and  compulsion  may  be  created  by  an  unfortu- 
nate natural  disposition  and  constitution.  Society  and 
the  law  should  understand  and  appreciate  these  facts. 
The  former  should  pity,  and  not  despise,  these  unfortu- 
nates ;  the  latter  must  cease  to  punish  them, — at  least 
while  they  remain  within  the  limits  which  are  set  for  the 
activity  of  their  sexual  instinct. 

As  a  confirmation  of  the  opinions  and  demands  con- 
cerning these  step-children  of  Nature,  it  is  permissible  to 
reproduce  here  the  memorial  of  an  urning  to  the  author. 
The  writer  of  the  following  lines  is  a  man  of  high  position 
in  London : — 

"You  have  no  idea  what  a  constant  struggle  we  all — 


UNNATUEAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.      .  543 

particularly  those  of  us  who  have  the  most  mind  and 
finest  feelings — must  endure,  and  how  we  suffer  under 
the  prevailing  false  ideas  about  us  and  our  so-called 
'  immorality '. 

"  Your  opinion  that  the  phenomenon  under  considera- 
tion is  primarily  due  to  a  congenital  '  pathological '  dis- 
position will,  perhaps,  make  it  possible  to  overcome 
existing  prejudices,  and  awaken  pity  for  poor,  '  abnormal ' 
men,  instead  of  the  present  repugnance  and  contempt. 

"  Much  as  I  beheve  that  the  opinion  expressed  by  you 
is  exceedingly  beneficial  to  us,  I  am  still  compelled,  in  the 
interest  of  science,  to  repudiate  the  word  '  pathological ' ; 
and  you  will  permit  me  to  express  a  few  thoughts  with 
respect  to  it. 

"  Under  all  circumstances  the  phenomenon  is  anom- 
alous ;  but  the  word  '  pathological '  conveys  another 
meaning,  which  I  cannot  think  suits  this  phenomenon ;  at 
least,  as  I  have  had  occasion  to  observe  it  in  very  many 
cases.  I  will  allow,  a  priori,  that,  among  urnings,  a  far 
higher  proportion  of  cases  of  insanity,  of  nervous  exhaus- 
tion, etc.,  may  be  observed  than  in  other  normal  men. 
Does  this  increased  nervousness  necessarily  depend  upon 
the  character  of  urningism,  or  is  it  not,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  to  be  ascribed  to  the  effect  of  the  laws  and  the  pre- 
judices of  society,  which  prohibit  the  indulgence  of  their 
sexual  desires,  depending  on  a  congenital  peculiarity, 
while  others  are  not  thus  restrained? 

"  The  youthful  urning,  when  he  feels  the  first  sexual 
promptings  and  naively  expresses  them  to  his  comrades, 
soon  finds  that  he  is  not  understood ;  he  shrinks  into 
himself.  If  he  tells  his  parents  or  teacher  what  moves 
him,  that  which  is  as  natural  to  him  as  swimming  is  to 
a  fish  is  described  as  wrong  and  sinful,  and  he  is  told 
it  must  be  fought  a.nd  overcome  at  any  price.  Then  an 
inner  conflict  begins,  a  powerful  repression  of  sexual  in- 
clinations ;  and  the  more  the  natural  satisfaction  of  desire 
is  repressed,  the  more  lively  the  fancy  becomes,  and  paints 


544  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

the  very  pictures  that  the  wish  is  to  banish.  The  more 
energetic  the  character  that  carries  on  this  inner  conflict, 
the  more  the  whole  nervous  system  must  suffer.  Such 
a  powerful  repression  of  an  instinct  so  deeply  implanted 
in  us,  in  my  opinion,  develops  the  abnormal  symptoms 
which  are  observed  in  many  urnings  ;  but  this  does  not 
necessarily  follow  from  the  urning's  disposition. 

"  Some  continue  the  conflict  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
time,  and  thus  injure  themselves  ;  others  at  last  come 
to  the  knowledge  that  the  powerful  instinct  born  in  them 
cannot  possibly  be  sinful,  and,  therefore,  they  cease  to 
try  to  do  the  impossible — -the  repression  of  the  instinct. 
Then,  however,  begin  constant  suffering  and  excitement. 
When  a  normal  man  seeks  satisfaction  of  sexual  inclina- 
tion, he  knows  how  to  find  it  easily  ;  it  is  not  so  with 
the  urning.  He  sees  men  that  attract  him,  but  he  dares 
not  say — nay,  not  even  betray  by  a  look — what  his  feel- 
ings are.  He  thinks  that  he  alone  of  all  the  world  has 
such  abnormal  feelings.  Naturally  he  seeks  the  society 
of  young  men  ;  but  he  does  not  venture  to  confide  in 
them.  Thus  he  comes  to  provide  himself  with  a  satis- 
faction that  he  cannot  otherwise  obtain.  Onanism  is 
practised  inordinately,  and  followed  by  all  the  evil  results 
of  that  vice.  When,  after  a  time,  the  nervous  system  has 
been  ii)jured,  the  abnormality  is  again  not  the  result  of 
urningism,  but  it  is  produced  by  the  onanism  to  which 
the  urning  resorts,  as  a  result  of  the  public  sentiment 
that  denies  him  opportunity  to  satisfy  the  sexual  instinct 
that  is  natural  to  him. 

"  Or  let  us  suppose  the  urning  has  had  the  rare  for- 
tune to  soon  find  a  person  like  himself  ;  or  that  he  has 
been  introduced  by  an  experienced  friend  to  the  events 
of  the  world  of  urnings.  Then  he  is  spared  much  of  the 
inner  conflict ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  fearful  cares  and 
anxieties  follow  his  footsteps.  Now  he  knows  that  he  is 
not  the  only  one  in  the  world  that  has  such  abnornjal 
feelings  ;  he  opens  his  eyes  and  wonders  that  he  meets  so 


UNNATURAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.  545 

many  of  his  kind  in  all  social  circles  and  in  all  callings  ; 
he  also  learns  that,  in  the  world  of  urnings,  as  in  the 
other,  there  is  prostitution,  and  that  men  as  well  as  women 
can  be  bought.  Thus  there  is  no  longer  any  want  of 
opportunity  for  sexual  satisfaction.  But  here  how  differ- 
ently the  experience  is  gained  from  that  obtained  in  the 
normal  manner  of  sexual  indulgence  ! 

"  Let  us  consider  the  happiest  case.  After  longing  all 
one's  life,  the  friend  of  like  feeling  is  found.  But  he  can- 
not be  approached  openly,  as  a  lover  approaches  the  girl 
he  loves.  In  constant  fear,  both  must  conceal  their  rela- 
tions ;  nay,  even  intimacy  that  might  easily  excite  sus- 
picion— especially  should  they  not  be  of  like  age,  or  should 
they  belong  to  different  classes — must  be  kept  from  the 
world.  Thus,  even  in  this  relation,  is  forged  a  chain 
of  anxiety  and  fear  that  the  secret  will  be  betrayed  or 
discovered,  which  leaves  them  no  joy  in  the  indulgence. 
The  slightest  thing  that  would  not  affect  others  makes 
them  tremble  with  fear  that  suspicion  might  be  excited 
and  the  secret  discovered,  and  destroy  social  position 
and  business.  Could  this  constant  anxiety  and  care  be 
endured  without  leaving  a  trace,  without  exerting  an 
influence  on  the  entire  nervous  system? 

"  Another  less  fortunate  man  does  not  find  a  friend  of 
like  feeling,  but  falls  into  the  hands  of  a  handsome  man, 
who  sought  him  until  the  secret  was  discovered.  Now 
the  most  refined  blackmail  is  extorted.  The  unfortunate, 
persecuted  man,  brought  to  the  alternative  of  paying  or 
of  losing  his  social  position,  and  bringing  disgrace  on 
himself  and  his  family,  pays  ;  and  the  more  he  gives,  the 
more  voracious  the  vampire  becomes  ;  until  at  last  there 
remains  nothing  but  absolute  financial  ruin  or  dishonour. 
"Who  can  wonder  that  nerves  are  not  equal  to  such  a 
terrible  struggle  ! 

"  They  give  way  ;  insanity  comes  on,  and  the  miser- 
able man  at  last  finds  the  rest  in  an  asylum  that  he  could 
not  find  in  the  world.     Another,  in  the  same  situation, 

35 


546  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

driven  to  despair,  finds  relief  in  suicide.  It  cannot  be 
known  how  many  of  the  suicides  of  young  men  are  to 
be  attributed  to  this  combination  of  circumstances. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  I  am  in  error  when  I  declare 
that  at  least  one  half  of  the  suicides  of  young  men  are 
due  to  such  conditions.  Even  in  those  cases  where  urn- 
ings  are  not  persecuted  by  a  heartless  villain,  but  where 
a  happy  relation  between  two  men  exists,  discovery,  or 
even  the  fear  of  it,  very  often  leads  to  suicide.  How 
many  officers,  how  many  soldiers,  having  such  relations 
with  their  subordinates  or  companions,  in  the  moment 
when  they  have  beheved  themselves  discovered,  have 
sought  to  escape  the  threatened  disgrace  by  means  of  a 
bullet  !     And  it  is  the  same  in  all  callings. 

"  Therefore,  if  it  must  be  admitted  that,  among  urn- 
ings,  more  mental  abnormafities  and  more  insanity  are 
actually  observed  than  among  other  men,  yet  this  does 
not  prove  that  the  mental  disturbance  is  a  necessary  ac- 
companiment of  the  urning's  condition,  and  that  the 
latter  induces  the  former. 

"According  to  my  firm  conviction,  hy  far  the  greater 
number  of  cases  of  mental  disturbance  or  abnormal  dis- 
position observed  in  urnings  are  not  to  be  attributed  to 
the  sexual  anomaly ;  but  they  are  caused  by  the  existing 
notions  concerning  urnings,  and  the  resulting  laws,  and 
dominant  pubhc  sentiment  concerning  the  anomaly.    Any 
one  with  an  adequate  idea  of  the  mental  and  moral  suffer- 
ing, of  the  anxiety  and  care  that  the  urning  must  endure ; 
of  the  constant  hypocrisy  and  secrecy  he  must  practise  in 
order  to  conceal  his  inner  instinct ;  of  the  difficulties  that 
meet  him  in  satisfying  his  natural  desire,— can  only  be 
surprised  that  more  insanity  and  nervous  disturbance  does 
not  occur  in  urnings.    The  greater  part  of  these  abnormal 
states  would  not  be  developed  if  the  urning,  fike  another, 
could  find  a  simple  and  easy  way  in  which  to  satisfy  his 
sexual  desire,— if  he  were  not  for  ever  troubled  by  these 
anxieties  !" 


UNNATURAL    ABUSE — SODOMY.  547 

De  lege  lata,  as  far  as  the  urning  is  concerned,  the 
paragraph  with  reference  to  pederasty  should  not  be 
apphed  ivithout  the  jjroof  of  actual  pederasty;  and  psychical 
and  somatic  abnormalities  should  be  examined  by  experts 
with  respect  to  an  estimate  in  the  individual  of  the  ques- 
tion of  guilt. 

De  lege  ferenda,  the  urnings  wish  a  repeal  of  the  para- 
graph. The  jurist  could  not  consent  to  this,  if  he  is 
to  remember  that  pederasty  is  much  more  frequently  a 
disgusting  vice  than  the  result  of  a  physical  and  mental 
infirmity ;  and  that,  moreover,  many  urnings,  though 
driven  to  sexual  acts  with  their  own  sex,  are  yet  in 
nowise  compelled  to  indulge  in  pederasty, — a  sexual  act 
which,  under  all  circumstances,  must  stand  as  cynical, 
disgusting,  and,  when  passive,  as  decidedly  injurious. 
Whether  for  reasons  of  expediency  (difficulty  of  fixing  the 
guilt,  encouragement  of  blackmail,  etc.),  it  would  not  be 
op)portune  to  strike  from  the  statutes  the  legal  punishment  of 
the  male-loving  man  is  a  question  for  the  jurists  of  the  future} 

My  reasons  for  abolishing  the  laws  above  referred  to 
are  the  following  : — 

(1)  The  offences  referred  to  in  these  laws  generally 
spring  from   an  abnormal  psychical  condition. 

(2)  Only  a  most  careful  medical  examination  can  dis- 
tinguish cases  of  sheer  perversity  from  those  of  patholo- 
gical perversion.  As  soon  as  the  individual  is  charged 
with  the  offence  he  is  socially  ruined. 

(3)  The  majority  of  urnings  are  the  victims  of  a  perverse 
instinct  of  abnormal  quality.  In  quahfying  the  sexual 
instinct  they  are  irresistibly  forced  by  physical  compul- 
sion. 

(4)  Many  urnings  are  incapable  of  considering  their 
sexual  instinct  as  unnatural ;  on  the  contrary,  their  own 
appears  to  them  the  natural  act,  and  that  permitted  by 
law  as  contra  naturam.      The  moral  means  of  correction 

1  Cf.  the  author's  pamphlet  "Der  contrar  Sexuale  vor  dem  Straf- 
richter".     Leipzig  and  Vienna  (Deutiko),  2  Aufl.,  1895. 


518  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

which  might  prevent  the  sexual  transgression  are  there- 
fore wanting. 

(5)  The  definition  as  to  what  constitutes  an  immoral 
offence  is  defective,  and  allows  the  judge  too  much  latitude 
In  Germany,  for  instance,  the  interpretation  of  §  175, 
growing  more  subtle  and  ingenious  every  day,  gives 
direct  proof  of  the  uncertainty  of  its  proper  legal  under- 
standing. 

The  deed  in  itself  ought  to  be  decisive  in  this  matter. 
and  the  verdict  should  be  in  accordance  with  it.     (As  a 
rule,  the  motive  is  scarcely  ever  scrutinised.)     But  how 
is  this  to  be  estabhshed  ?      For  the  deed  is,  as  a  rule, 
committed  in  secret  and  in  the  absence  of  witnesses. 

(6)  Theoretical  criminal  reasons  for  the  retention  of 
the  paragraph  are  never  advanced.  It  does  not  deter 
from  crime  and  has  no  corrective  influence,  for  patho- 
logical manifestations  are  not  removed  by  penal  remedies. 
Decidedly  it  is  not  an  atonement  for  a  criminal  act  which 
can  only  under  certain  and  mostly  false  presumptions  be 
considered  as  criminal,  and  thus  may  lead  to  acts  of  gross 
injustice.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  many  civilised 
countries  this  paragraph  no  longer  is  in  vogue,  that  in 
Germany  it  only  exists  as  a  concession  to  pubhc  morality, 
whilst  the  latter  is  based  on  false  principles,  and  frequently 
mixes  up  perversion  with  perversity. 

(7)  In  my  opinion,  public  morality  and  youth  are  suffi- 
ciently protected,  in  Germany  at  any  rate,  by  other 
paragraphs  of  the  statutes ;  and  I  incline  to  the  belief 
that  paragraph  175  does  more  harm  than  good,  in  so  far 
as  it  favours  and  abets  blackmail — one  of  the  basest  and 
vilest  vices. 

Of  course,  the  blackmailer  may  be  punished,  but  he 
has  always  the  one  chance  in  his  favour,  that  his  victim 
will  never  resort  to  the  extreme  measure  of  appeahng  to 
the  law.  If  it  comes  to  the  worst  the  scoundrel  is  con- 
fined to  prison  for  a  short  time  without  running  the  risk 
of  losing  the  honour  which  he  never  possessed,  whilst  his 


UNNATURAL    ABUSE — SODOMY.  549 

victim  has  lost  all,  i.e.,  his  good  name  and  the  respect  of 
others,  is  thus  ruined  and  often  brought  to  self-destruction. 

(8)  If  the  German  law-maker  should  deem  public 
morality  endangered  by  the  abrogation  of  §  175,  surely  the 
extension  of  §  176,  1,  to  male  persons  as  well  should  be 
sufficient  (at  present  this  paragraph  deals  only  with  im- 
moral acts  committed  on  females  either  with  force  or  under 
threats).  The  "Code  penal  frangais  "  has  such  a  paragraph. 
Eventually  the  age  of  fourteen  years  mentioned  in  this 
paragraph  176,  3,  and  beyond  which  immoral  actions 
committed  on  youthful  persons  go  unpunished,  might  be 
raised  to  a  higher  figure.  This  would  also  benefit  the 
female  portion  of  society,  who  scarcely  possess  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  sufficient  maturity  of  mind  and  judgment 
to  protect  themselves  against  the  evil.  Moreover  by  this 
act  a  more  efficient  protection  would  be  given  to  youn^ 
people  in  general  (say  up  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
year)  than  is  now  granted  by  §  175,  which  after  all  is 
only  directed  against  pederasty  (and  according  to  more 
recent  interpretation  against  other  actions  of  a  coitus-hke 
nature)  whilst  it  regards  onanism  and  other  immoral  acts 
with  impunity.  Perverse  people  but  seldom  endanger  the 
morality  of  the  young  by  pederasty,  but  much  more  fre- 
quently by  other  acts  of  immorahty.  Beyond  a  certain 
age,  say  eighteen,  when  a  sufficient  degree  of  moral  and 
intellectual  ripeness  has  been  attained,  the  law  has  neither 
the  right  nor  the  duty  to  impugn  immoral  act^  which  are 
committed  inter  mares,  portis  clausis  and  consenm  mutuo. 
The  individual  himself  is  responsible  for  such  acts,  for 
they  do  not  violate  either  public  or  private  interests. 

What  has  been  said  de  lege  lata  concerning  congenital 
sexual  inversion  and  its  relation  to  the  law  is  also  appli- 
cable to  the  acquired  abnoraiality.  The  accompanying 
neurosis  or  psychosis  should  have  much  diagnostic  and 
forensic  weight  with  reference  to  the  question  of  guilt. 

It  is  of  high  psychopathological  and,  under  circum- 
stances, also  of  criminal  intei'ost  that  individuals  of  anti- 


550  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

pathic  sexuality  when  unfortunate  in  their  love  affairs, 
or  when  meeting  with  deception  on  the  part  of  the  be- 
loved, are  subject  to  all  those  psychical  reactions  in  the 
shape  of  jealousy  and  vindictiveness  which  occur  in  the 
love  affairs  between  man  and  woman  ;  nay,  often  ever 
lead  to  deeds  of  violence  to  revenge  the  affront  or  to 
punish  the  robber  of  happiness. 

Nothing  else  could  prove  more  clearly  the  constitu- 
tionality of  these  inverted  sexual  feelings  ;  their  dominat- 
ing power  over  sense,  thought  and  aspiration,  and  their 
complete  substitution  for  hetero-sexual  normal  feeling  and 
development.  A  case  of  such  unrequited  and  betrayed 
love  is  the  following  taken  from  recent  American  criminal 
acts,  the  report  of  which  was  sent  to  me  by  Dr.  Bocch  of 
Troppau. 

Case  204i  A  sexually  inverted  girl  kills  the  girl  she 
loves  because  she  was  rejected. 

In  January,  1892,  Alice  M.,  a  young  girl  belonging  to 
one  of  the  best  famihes  of  Memphis,  Tennessee,  U.S.A., 
killed  in  the  public  street  of  that  town  her  girl  friend, 
Freda  W.,  also  of  the  best  society.  She  made  several 
deep  gashes  in  the  neck  of  the  girl  with  a  razor. 

The  trial  ehcited  the  following  facts  : — 

Alice  inherited  taint  from  her  mother — an  uncle  and 
several  cousins  in  the  first  degree  were  insane — the  mother 
herself  was  psychopathic,  had  jjuerijeral  dementia  after  each 
confinement,  the  worst  attack  following  the  birth  of  the 
seventh  child,  i.e.,  Alice,  now  a  prisoner — afterwards  she 
declined  mentally  suffering  from  dementia  persecutoria. 

A  brother  of  the  accused  suffered  from  mental  derange- 
ment for  some  time  after  an  alleged  sunstroke. 

Alice  is  nineteen  years  of  age,  of  medium  height,  not 
pretty.  The  face  is  childHke  and  "  almost  too  small  for 
her  size,"  and  asymmetrical,  the  right  facial  side  is  more 
developed  than  the  left,  the  nose  "  of  striking  irregular- 
ity," the  eye  piercing.     She  is  left-handed. 


UNNATURAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.  551 

With  the  beoinning  of  puberty,  severe  and  continued 
headaches  were  of  frequent  occurrence ;  once  a  month 
she  suffered  from  epistaxis,  often  up  to  within  the  very 
latest  period  from  attacks  of  tremor.  On  one  occasion 
she  lost  consciousness  during  one  of  these  attacks. 

Alice  was  a  nervous,  irritable  child,  and  very  slow  in 
physical  development.  She  never  enjoyed  children's  or 
girls'  games.  When  she  was  four  to  five  years  old  she 
took  much  pleasure  in  tormenting  cats,  suspending  them 
by  one  leg. 

She  preferred  her  younger  brother  and  his  games  to 
her  sisters ;  she  vied  with  him  in  spinning  tops,  playing 
baseball  and  football,  or  shooting  at  targets,  and  in  many 
silly  pranks.  She  loved  to  climb  trees  and  roofs,  and  was 
very  clever  in  this  sport.  Above  all  things  she  loved  to 
amuse  herself  in  the  stable  among  the  mules.  When  she 
was  six  to  seven  her  father  had  bought  a  horse,  and  she 
took  great  delight  in  feeding  and  tending  it,  and  rode 
about  the  paddock  astraddle  on  its  back  hke  a  boy,  with- 
out a  saddle.  Later  on  she  would  also  groom  the  horse 
and  wash  his  hoofs.  She  would  lead  him  along  the  street 
by  the  halter,  gear  him  up  in  the  buggy,  and  became  quite 
an  expert  in  harnessing  him  up  when  required. 

At  school  she  was  slow  and  faulty,  incapable  of  con- 
tinued occupation  with  the  same  subject,  did  not  grasp 
things  easily,  and  had  no  memory.  For  music  and 
drawing  she  had  not  the  slightest  talent,  and  hated 
feminine  occupations.  She  never  cared  for  reading,  and 
could  bear  neither  books  or  newspapers.  She  was  stub- 
born and  capricious,  and  was  considered  by  her  teachers 
and  friends  as  an  abnormal  being. 

When  a  child  she  did  not  care  for  boys,  and  had  no 
companions  among  them  ;  later  on  she  never  cared  for 
men,  and  had  no  lovers.  She  was  quite  indifferent  towards 
the  young  men,  even  abrupt,  and  they  looked  upon  her  as 
being  "  cracked  ". 

But  "  as  far  as  she  can  remember"  she  had  an  extra- 


552  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

ordinary  love  for  Freda  W.,  a  girl  of  her  own  age,  daughter 
of  a  friend  of  the  family.  Freda  was  a  tender  and  sweet 
girl  ;  the  love  was  mutual,  but  more  violent  on  the  part 
of  Alice.  It  increased  from  year  to  year  until  it  became 
a  passion.  A  year  previous  to  the  catastrophe  Freda's 
family  moved  away  to  another  town.  Alice  was  steeped 
in  sorrow  ;  a  very  tender  love  correspondence  now  ensued. 

Twice  Alice  went  to  visit  Freda's  family,  during  which 
time  the  two  girls,  as  witnesses  attest,  showed  "  disgust- 
ing tenderness  "  for  each  other.  They  were  seen  to  swing 
together  in  a  hammock  by  the  hour,  hugging  and  kissing 
each  other — "  they  hugged  and  kissed  ad  7iaiiseam'\  Alice 
was  ashamed  of  doing  this  in  public,  but  Freda  upbraided 
her  for  this. 

When  Freda  paid  a  visit  in  return,  Alice  made  an 
attempt  at  killing  her ;  she  tried  to  pour  laudanum  down 
her  throat  'whilst  asleep.  The  attempt  failed  because 
Freda  woke  up  in  time. 

Alice  then  took  the  poison  herself  before  Freda,  and 
was  taken  violently  ill.  The  reason  for  the  attempted 
murder  and  suicide  was  that  Freda  had  shown  some 
interest  in  two  young  men,  and  Alice  declared  she  could 
not  live  without  Freda's  love,  and  again  "  she  wanted  to 
kill  herself  in  order  to  find  release  from  her  tortures  and  make 
Freda  free  ".  After  recovery  they  both  resumed  the  amorous 
correspondence,  even  with  more  fervour  than  before. 

Soon  after  this  Alice  proposed  marriage  to  Freda.  She 
sent  her  an  engagement  ring,  and  threatened  death  if  she 
proved  disloyal.  They  were  to  assume  a  false  name  and 
fly  to  St.  Louis,  Alice  would  wear  men's  clothes  and 
earn  a  living  for  both ;  she  would  also  grow  a  moustache, 
if  Freda  were  to  insist  upon  it,  as  she  felt  confident  that 
by  shaving  frequently  she  could  succeed  in  this. 

Just  before  the  attempted  elopement  the  plot  was 
discovered  and  prevented  ;  the  "  engagement  ring  "  was 
returned  together  with  other  love  tokens  to  Alice's  mother, 
and  all  intercourse  between  the  two  girls  was  stopped. 


UNNATUEAL   ABUSE — SODOMY.  558 

Alice  was  completely  broken  up.  She  lost  her  sleep, 
refused  food,  became  listless  and  confused  (at  the  shops 
had  the  purchased  goods  put  down  to  the  name  of  her 
beloved).  The  ring  and  other  love  tokens — among  them 
a  thimble  of  Freda's  filled  with  the  latter's  blood — she 
concealed  in  a  corner  of  the  kitchen,  where  she  spent 
hours  in  contemplating  these  objects,  now  bursting  into 
peals  of  laughter,  now  into  floods  of  tears.  " 

She  became  emaciated,  the  face  assumed  an  anxious 
expression,  the  eyes  showed  "  a  peculiar  strange  lustre  ". 
When  she  learned  of  an  intended  visit  by  Freda  to 
Memphis  she  firmly  resolved  to  kill  her  if  she  cannot 
possess  her.  She  stole  a  razor  from  her  father  and  care- 
fully concealed  it. 

In  the  meantime  she  started  a  correspondence  with 
Freda's  admirer,  simulating  friendship  for  him  in  order 
to  find  out  his  relations  to  Freda,  and  kept  herself  informed 
about  them. 

All  attempts  to  see  her  or  hear  from  her  made  by  Alice 
during  Freda's  sojourn  in  Memphis  failed.  She  waylaid 
Freda  in  the  street  and  once  almost  succeeded  in  carrvino- 
out  her  purpose  had  not  an  accident  prevented  her.  On 
the  very  day,  however,  when  Freda  was  leaving  town  and 
on  her  way  to  the  steamboat  Alice  overtook  her. 

She  felt  mortally  hurt  because  Freda,  although  walk- 
ing alongside  of  the  buggy  in  which  she  herself  was  riding, 
never  spoke  a  word  to  her,  but  only  gave  her  a  glance 
now  and  then.  She  jumped  from  the  vehicle  and  cut 
Freda  with  the  razor.  When  Freda's  sister  tried  to  beat 
her  off  she  became  frantic  and  blindly  cut  deep  gashes 
into  the  poor  girl's  neck,  one  reaching  almost  from  ear  to 
ear.  Whilst  everybody  was  busy  about  Freda  she  drove 
off  furiously  through  the  streets.  When  reaching  home 
she  immediately  told  her  mother  what  had  happened. 
She  could  not  comprehend  the  awfulness  of  the  deed  ; 
she  was  cold  and  unmoved  at  the  consequences  pointed 
out  to  her.     But  when  she  heard  of  the  death  and  the 


554  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

funeral  of  her  beloved  Freda  and  realised  her  loss  she 
burst  into  tears  and  passionate  wailings,  kissed  the  picture 
of  the  dead  girl  and  spoke  as  if  she  were  not  dead  but 
still  alive- 

During  the  trial  her  callous  behaviour  struck  every 
one  ;  the  deep  sorrow  of  her  own  people  did  not  affect 
her  in  the  least ;  she  showed  absolute  indifference  to  the 
ethical  points  of  her  deed. 

At  moments,  however,  when  her  passionate  love  for 
Freda  and  her  jealousy  woke  up,  she  yielded  to  boundless 
grief  and  emotion.  ''Freda  has  broken  her  faith  !  "  "1 
have  killed  her  because  I  loved  her  so  !  "  The  experts 
called  in  the  case  found  her  mental  development  on  a 
level  with  that  of  a  girl  of  thirteen  to  fourteen  years.  She 
comprehended  that  no  children  could  have  sprung  from 
her  "  union  "  with  Freda— but  that  a  "  marriage  "  be- 
tween them  would  have  been  an  absurdity  she  would  not 
admit.  She  absolutely  denied  that  sexual  intercourse  be- 
tween the  two  (even  mutual  masturbation)  ever  took 
place.  But  nothing  definite  about  this  point  or  about  her 
vita  sexualis  per  acta  could  be  learned.  A  gynascological 
examination  of  her  person  was  not  made. 

The  verdict  was  insanity  ("  Memphis  Medical  Monthly, 
1892). 

Cultivated  Pederasty. * 

This  is  one  of  the  saddest  pages  in  the  history  of  human 
delinquencies. 

The  motives  that  bring  to  pederasty  a  man  originally 
sexually  normal  and  of  sound  mind  are  various.     It  is 

1  For  interesting  histories  and  notes,  v.  Krauss,  "  Psychol,  des  Ver- 
brechens,"  p.  174  ;  Tardic2i,  "  Attentats  "  ;  Maschka,  "  Handb.,"  iii.,  p.  174. 
This  vice  seems  to  have  come  through  Crete  from  Asia  to  Greece,  and,  in 
the  times  of  classic  Hellas,  to  have  been  widespread.  Thence  it  spread 
to  Rome,  where  it  flourished  luxuriantly.  In  Persia  and  China  (where  it 
is  actually  tolerated)  it  is  widespread,  as  it  also  is  in  Europe  (c/.  Tar- 
dieu,  Tarnowsky,  et  al.). 


CULTIVATED    PEDEEASTT.  655 

used  temporarily  as  a  means  of  sexual  satisfaction  faute  de 
mieux — as  in  infrequent  cases  of  bestiality — where  absti- 
nence from  normal  sexual  indulgence  is  enforced.^  It  thus 
occurs  on  shipboard  during  long  voyages,  in  prisons,  in 
watering-places,  etc.  It  is  highly  probable  that,  among 
men  subjected  to  such  conditions,  there  are  single  indi- 
viduals of  low  morals  and  great  sensuality,  or  actual  urn- 
ings,  who  seduce  the  others.  Lust,  imitation,  and  desire 
further  their  purpose. 

The  strength  of  the  sexual  instinct  is  most  markedly 
shown  by  the  fact  that  such  circumstances  are  sufficient 
to  overcome  repugnance  for  the  unnatural  act. 

Another  category  of  pederasts  is  made  up  of  old  rou^s 
that  have  become  supersatiated  in  normal  sexual  indulg- 
ence, and  who  find  in  pederasty  a  means  of  exciting 
sensual  pleasure,  the  act  being  a  new  method  of  stimula- 
tion. Thus  they  temporarily  renew  their  power,  that 
has  been  psychically  and  physically  reduced  to  so  low 
a  state.  The  new  sexual  situation  makes  them,  so  to 
speak,  relatively  potent,  and  renders  pleasure  possible  that 
it  is  no  longer  found  in  the  normal  intercourse  with 
women.  In  time  power  to  indulge  in  pederasty  also 
flickers  out.  The  individual  may  thus  finally  be  reduced 
to  passive  pederasty  as  a  stimulus  to  make  possible  tem- 
poral}^ active  pederasty  ;  just  as,  occasionally,  flagellation 
or  looking  on  at  obscene  acts  {Maschka's  case  of  mutilation 
of  animals)  is  resorted  to  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  termination  of  sexual  activity  expresses  itself  in 
all  kinds  of  abuse  of  children — cunnilingtis ,  fellare,  and 
other  enormities. 

This  kind  of  pederasts  is  the  most  dangerous,  since 
they  deal  mostly  with  boys,  and  ruin  them  in  body  and 
soul. 

In  reference  to  this,  the  experiences  of  Tamoiosky  {op. 

^  Lombroso  ("  Der  Verbrecher,  p.  20  et  seq.)  shows  that  also,  in  case  of 
animals,  intercourse  with  the  same  sex  occurs  where  normal  indulgence 
is  impossible. 


556  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

cit.,  p.  53  et  seq.),  gathered  from  society  in  St.  Petersburg, 
are  terrible.  The  places  where  pederasty  is  cultivated  are 
institutes.  Old  roues  and  urnings  play  the  role  of  seducers. 
At  first  it  is  difficult  for  the  person  to  carry  out  the  dis- 
gusting act.  Fancy  is  made  to  assist  by  calHng  up  the 
image  of  a  woman.  Gradually,  with  practice,  the  un- 
natural act  becomes  easy,  and  at  last  the  individual,  like 
one  debased  by  masturbation,  becomes  relatively  impotent 
for  women,  and  lustful  enough  to  find  pleasure  in  the 
perverse  act.  Such  individuals,  under  circumstances,  give 
themselves  for  money. 

As  Tardieu,  Hofmann,  Simon  and  Taylor  show,  such 
fiends  are  not  infrequently  found  in  large  cities.  From 
numerous  statements  made  to  me  by  urnings,  it  is  learned 
that  actual  prostitution  and  houses  of  prostitution  for 
male-loving  men  exist  in  large  cities.  The  arts  of  coquetry 
used  by  these  male  prostitutes  are  noteworthy — ornament, 
perfumes,  feminine  styles  of  dress,  etc.,  to  attract  pederasts 
and  urnings.  This  imitation  of  feminine  peculiarities  is 
spontaneous  and  unconscious  in  congenital  and  in  some 
acquired  cases  of  (abnormal)  antipathic  sexual  instinct 

The  following  lines  are  of  interest  to  the  psychologist, 
and  may  give  the  officers  of  the  law  important  clues  con- 
cerning the  social  life  and  practice  of  pederasts  : — 

Goffignon,  "  La  Corruption  a  Paris,"  p.  327,  divides 
active  pederasts  into  "  amateurs,''  "  cntreteiieurs''  and  "  sou- 
tencurs ' ' . 

The  "amateurs"  {"rivcttes")  are  debauched  persons, 
frequently  of  congenital  sexual  inversion,  of  position  and 
fortune,  who  are  forced  to  guard  themselves  against  detec- 
tion in  the  gratification  of  their  homosexual  desires.  For 
this  purpose  they  visit  brothels,  lodging-houses,  or  the 
private  houses  of  female  prostitutes,  who  are  usually  on 
good  terms  with  male  prostitutes.  Thus  they  escape 
blackmail. 

Some  of  these  "  amateurs  "  arc  bold  enough  to  indulge 


CULTIVATED   PEDEEASTY.  557 

their  vile  desires  in  public  places.  They  thus  run  the 
risk  of  arrest,  but  in  a  large  city  little  risk  of  blackmail. 
Danger  is  said  to  add  to  their  secret  pleasure. 

The  "  entreteneiirs  "  are  old  sinners  who,  even  with  the 
danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  blackmailers,  cannot 
deny  themselves  the  pleasure  of  keeping  a  (male)  mistress. 

The  "souteneurs"  are  pederasts  that  have  been  punished, 
who  keep  their  "jesus,"  whom  they  send  out  to  entice 
customers  {"/aire  chanter  lea  rivettes  "),  and  who  then,  at 
the  right  moment  if  possible,  appear  for  the  purpose  of 
plucking  the  victim. 

Not  infrequently  they  live  together  in  bands,  the  mem- 
bers, in  accordance  with  individual  desire,  living  together 
as  husbands  and  wives.  In  such  bands  there  are  formal 
marriages,  betrothals,  banquets  and  introductions  of  brides 
and  grooms  into  their  apartments. 

These  "  souteneiirs  "  train  up  their  "  jcszts  ". 

The  passive  pederasts  are  " petits  jesus,"  "  jestts,"  or 
"  aunts  ". 

The  "petits  jesus"  are  lost,  depraved  children,  placed 
by  accident  in  the  hands  of  active  pederasts,  who  seduce 
them,  and  reveal  to  them  the  horrible  means  of  earning  a 
livelihood,  either  as  " entretenus"  or  as  male  street-walkers, 
with  or  without  "  souteneurs  ". 

The  slyest  and  choicest  "petits  jesus''  are  those  trained 
by  persons  who  instruct  these  children  in  the  art  of  female 
dress  and  manner. 

Gradually  they  emancipate  themselves  from  teacher 
and  master,  in  order  to  become  "fcmnies  entrctemces,"  not 
infrequently  by  means  of  anonymous  denunciation  of 
their  "  soziteneurs  "  to  the  police. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  "souteneur"  and  the  "petit 
jesus  "  to  make  the  latter  appear  young  as  long  as  possible 
by  means  of  all  the  arts  of  the  toilet. 

The  limit  of  age  is  about  twenty-five  years ;  when 
they  all  become  "jesus  "  and  " femvics  entretemtes ,"  and  are 
then  often  sustained  by  several  "souteneurs".    The  "jesus" 


558  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

fall  into  three  categories  :  "  filles  galantes,"  i.e.,  those  that 
have  fallen  again  into  the  hands  of  a  "souteneur";  "pier- 
reuses  "  (ordinary  street- walkers,  hke  their  female  col- 
leagues) ;   and  "  domestiques  ". 

The  "  domestiques "  hire  themselves  out  to  active 
pederasts,  either  to  gratify  their  desires  or  to  obtain 
"  petits  jesus"  for  them. 

A  sub-group  of  these  "  domestiques  "  is  formed  by  such 
of  them  as  enter  the  service  of  " petit s  jesus"  as  " fcmmes 
de  chamhre  ".  The  principal  object  of  these  "domestiques" 
is  to  use  their  positions  to  obtain  compromising  know- 
ledge, with  which  they  later  practise  blackmail,  and  thus 
assure  themselves  ease  in  their  old  age. 

The  most  horrible  class  of  active  pederasts  is  made  up 
of  the  "  aufits," — i.e.,  the  "  soutenetirs  "  of  (male)  prosti- 
tutes,— who,  though  normal  sexually,  are  morally  de- 
praved, and  practise  pederasty  (passive)  only  for  gain  or 
for  the  purpose  of  blackmail. 

The  wealthy  "amateurs"  have  their  reunions  and 
places  of  meeting,  where  the  passive  ones  appear  in 
female  attire,  and  horrible  orgies  take  place.  The  waiters, 
musicians,  etc.,  at  such  gatherings  are  all  pederasts. 
The  " filles  galantes"  do  not  venture,  except  during  the 
carnival,  to  show  themselves  in  the  street  in  female  attire; 
but  they  know  how  to  lend  to  their  appearance  something 
indicative  of  their  calling  by  means  of  style  of  dress,  etc. 
They  entice  by  means  of  gesture,  peculiar  movements  of 
the  hands,  etc.,  and  lead  their  victims  to  hotels,  baths,  or 
brothels. 

What  the  author  says  of  blackmail  is  generally  known. 
There  are  cases  where  pederasts  have  allowed  their  entire 
fortune  to  be  wrung  from  them. 

That  these  monstrosities  of  large  cities  in  the  shape 
of  "  petits  jesus"  are  not  only  the  productions  of  profes- 
sional training,  but  rather  of  a  degenerated  mental  condi- 
tion is  apparent  from  the  researches  made  by  Laurent 
("  Les  bisexues,"  Paris,  1894).    He  describes  on  page  175 


CULTIVATED    PEDERASTY.  559 

of  bis  book  under  tbe  title  of  "  Hermapbroclitisme  artifi- 
ciel  "  manifestations  of  "  effemination  "  and  "  infantilisme  ". 
Tbey  refer  to  boys  who  with  incipient  puberty  show  no 
further  development  of  the  frame  and  the  genital  organs, 
have  no  growth  of  hair  about  the  face  or  pubes,  do  not 
change  the  voice  and  are  retrograde  in  their  mental 
faculties.  Often  it  happens  that  in  such  cases  secondary 
physical  and  psychical  female  characteristics  of  sexuality 
are  developed.  A  post  mortem  of  such  "  petits  garroches  " 
(Brouardel)  reveals  a  small  bladder,  mere  rudiments  of 
the  prostate,  absence  of  the  ischio  and  bulbo  cavernosi 
muscles,  infantile  penis,  and  a  very  narrow  pelvis. 

They  are  beyond  doubt  heavily  tainted  individuals  who 
have  experienced  at  the  time  of  puberty  a  sort  of  rudi- 
mentary sexual  change. 

Laurent  (p.  181)  makes  the  interesting  remark,  that 
from  the  ranks  of  these  "  Infantiles  "  and  "Effeminates  "  the 
professional  passive  pederasts  ("  petits  jesus")  are  recruited. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  these  human  monstrosities 
are  predestmed  for  and  trained,  so  to  speak,  in  their  abomi- 
nable career  by  degenerative  and  anthropological  factors. 

The  following  notice  from  a  Berlin  (National  ?)  news- 
paper, of  February,  1884,  which  fell  into  my  hands  by 
accident,  seems  suited  to  show  something  of  the  life  and 
customs  of  pederasts  and  urnings  : — 

"  The  Woman-haters'  Ball. — Almost  every  social  element 
of  Berhn  has  its  social  reunions — the  fat,  the  bald-headed, 
the  bachelors,  the  widowers — and  why  not  the  woman- 
haters  ?  This  species  of  men,  so  interesting  psychologi- 
cally and  none  too  edifying,  had  a  great  ball  a  few  days 
ago.  '  Grand  Vienna  Fancy  Dress  Ball,' — ran  the  notice. 
The  sale  of  tickets  is  very  rigorous  ;  they  wish  to  be  very 
exclusive.  Their  rendezvous  is  a  well-known  dancing-hall. 
We  enter  the  hall  about  midnight.  The  merry  dancing 
is  to  the  strains  of  a  fine  orchestra.  Thick  tobacco- smoke, 
veiling  the  gashghts,  does  not  allow  the  details  of  the 


560  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

moving  mass  to  become  obvious  ;  only  during  the  pause 
betv\^een  the  dances  can  we  obtain  a  closer  viev7.  The 
masks  are  by  far  in  the  majority  ;  black  dress-coats  and 
ball-gowns  are  seen  only  now  and  then. 

"  But  what  is  that  ?  The  lady  in  rose-tarletan,  that 
just  now  passed  us,  has  a  lighted  cigar  in  the  corner  of 
her  mouth,  and  puffs  like  a  trooper  ;  and  she  also  wears 
a  small,  blonde  beard,  lightly  painted  out.  And  yet  she 
is  talking  with  a  very  decollete  '  angel  '  in  tricots,  who 
stands  there,  with  bare  arms  folded  behind  him,  likewise 
smoking.  The  two  voices  are  masculine,  and  the  conver- 
sation is  likewise  very  masculine  ;  it  is  about  the  '  d 

tobacco  smoke,  that  permits  no  air  '.  Two  men  in  female 
attire !  A  conventional  clown  stands  there,  against  a 
pillar,  in  soft  conversation  with  a  ballet-dancer,  with  his 
arm  around  her  faultless  waist.  She  has  a  blonde  '  Titus- 
head  '  sharp-cut  profile,  and  apparently  a  voluptuous  form. 
The  brilliant  ear-rings,  the  necklace  vnth  a  medallion,  the 
full,  round  shoulders  and  arms,  do  not  permit  a  doubt  of 
her  '  genuineness,'  until,  with  a  sudden  movement,  she 
disengages  herself  from  the  embracing  arm,  and,  yawning, 
moves  away,  saying,  in  a  deep  bass,  '  Emile,  you  are  too 
tiresome  to-day  !  '     The  ballet-dancer  is  also  a  male  ! 

"  Suspicious  now,  we  look  about  further.  We  almost 
suspect  that  here  the  world  is  topsy-turvy  ;  for  there  goes, 
or,  rather,  trips,  a  man — no,  no  man  at  all,  even  though 
he  wears  a  carefully  trained  moustache.  The  well-curled 
hair ;  the  powdered  and  painted  face  with  the  blackened 
eyebrows ;  the  golden  ear-rings  ;  the  bouquet  of  flowers 
reaching  froan  the  left  shoulder  to  the  breast,  ornament- 
ing the  elegant  black  gown  ;  the  golden  bracelets  on  the 
wrists  ;  the  elegant  fan  in  the  white-gloved  hand — all 
these  things  are  anything  but  masculine.  And  how  he 
toys  with  the  fan !  How  he  dances  and  turns  and  trips 
and  lisps  !  And  yet  kindly  Nature  made  this  doll  a  man. 
He  is  a  salesman  in  a  large  sweet  shop,  and  the  ballet- 
dancer  mentioned  is  his  '  colleague  '. 


CULTIVATED    PEDERASTY.  561 

"  At  a  little  corner-table  there  seems  to  be  a  great 
social  circle.  Several  elderly  gentlemen  press  around  a 
group  of  decollete  ladies,  who  sit  over  a  glass  of  wine  and — 
in  the  spirit  of  fun — make  jokes  that  are  none  too  deli- 
cate. AVho  are  these  three  ladies  ?  '  Ladies  !  '  lausrbs 
my  knowing  friend.  '  Well,  the  one  on  the  right,  with 
the  brown  hair  and  the  short,  fancy  dress,  is  called 
"  Butterrieke,"  he  is  a  hairdresser  ;  the  second  one — the 
blonde  in  a  singer's  costume,  with  the  necklace  of  pearls 
— is  known  here  by  the  name  of  "  Miss  Ella  of  the  tight- 
rope," and  he  is  a  ladies'  tailor ,  and  the  third — that  is 
the  widely  celebrated  "  Lottie  ".' 

"  But  that  person  cannot  possibly  be  a  man  ?  That 
waist,  that  bust,  those  classic  arms,  the  whole  air  and 
person  are  markedly  feminine  ! 

"  I  am  told  that  '  Lottie  '  was  once  a  bookkeeper. 
To-day  she,  or,  rather,  he,  is  exclusively  '  Lottie,'  and 
takes  pleasure  in  deceiving  men  about  his  sex  as  long  as 
possible.  *  Lottie  '  is  singing  a  song  that  would  hardly 
do  for  a  drawing-room,  in  a  high  voice,  acquired  by  years 
of  practice,  which  many  a  soprano  might  envy.  '  Lottie  ' 
has  also  '  worked  '  as  a  female  comedian.  Now  the  quon- 
dam bookkeeper  has  so  entered  into  the  female  role  that 
he  appears  on  the  street  in  female  attire  almost  exclu- 
sively, and,  as  the  people  with  whom  he  lodges  state,  uses 
an  embroidered  night-dress. 

"  On  closer  examination  of  the  assembly,  to  my  as- 
tonishment, I  discover  acquaintances  on  all  hands  :  my 
shoemaker,  whom  I  should  have  taken  for  anything  but  a 
woman-hater — he  is  a  '  troubadour,'  with  sword  and  plume  ; 
and  his  'Leonora,'  in  the  costume  of  a  bride,  is  accus- 
tomed to  place  my  favourite  brand  of  cigars  before  me 
in  a  certain  cigar-store.  '  Leonora,'  who,  during  an  inter- 
mission, removes  her  gloves,  I  recognise  with  certainty 
by  her  large,  blue  hands.  Eight  !  There  is  my  haber- 
dasher, also  ;  he  moves  about  in  a  questionable  costume 
as  Bacchus,  and  is  the  swain  of  a  repugnantly  bedecked 

36 


562  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

Diana,  who  works  as  a  waiter  in  a  beer-restaurant.  The 
real  '  ladies  '  of  the  ball  cannot  be  described  here.  They 
associate  only  with  one  another,  and  avoid  the  woman- 
hating  men ;  and  the  latter  are  exclusive,  and  amuse 
themselves,  absolutely  ignoring  the  charms  of  the  women." 

These  facts  deserve  the  careful  attention  of  the  police, 
who  should  be  placed  in  a  position  to  cope  with  male  prosti- 
tution, as  they  7iow  do  with  that  of  women. 

Male  prostitution  is  certainly  much  more  dangerous  to 
society  than  that  of  females  ;  it  is  the  darkest  stain  on 
the  history  of  humanity. 

From  the  statements  of  a  high  police  official  of  Berlin, 
I  learn  that  the  police  are  conversant  with  the  male  demi- 
mofule  of  the  German  capital,  and  do  all  they  can  to  sup- 
press blackmail  among  pederasts — a  practice  which  often 
does  not  stop  short  of  murder. 

The  foregoing  facts  justify  the  wish  that  the  law-maker 
(»/  the  future  7nay,  for  reasons  of  utility,  at  least,  abandon  the 
prosecution  of  pederasty. 

With  reference  to  this  point,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that 
the  French  Code  does  not  punish  it  so  long  as  it  does 
not  become  an  offence  to  public  decency.  Probably  for 
politico-legal  reasons,  the  new  Italian  Penal  Code  passes 
over  the  crime  of  unnatural  abuse  m  silence,  as  do  the 
statutes  of  Holland  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  Belgium  and  Spain. 

In  how  far  such  cultivated  pederasts  are  to  be  regarded 
as  mentally  and  morally  sound  may  remain  an  open  ques- 
tion. The  majority  of  them  suffer  with  genital  neuroses. 
At  least  in  these  cases  there  are  the  stages  of  transition  to 
acquired  pathological  antipathic  sexual  instinct  (see  p.  273), 
The  responsibility  of  these  individuals,  who  are  certainly 
much  lower  than  the  women  who  prostitute  themselves, 
cannot,  generally  speaking,  be  questioned. 

The  various  categories  of  male-loving  men,  with  respect 
to  the  manner  of  sexual  indulgence,  may  be  thus  char- 
acterised in  general : — 


CULTIVATED    PEDEEASTT.  563 

The  congenital  urning  becomes  a  pederast  only  excejj- 
tionally,  and  eventually  resorts  to  it  after  having  practised 
and  exhausted  all  the  possible  immoral  acts  with  males. 

Passive  pederasty  is  to  him  the  ideally  and  practically 
adequate  form  of  the  sexual  act.  He  practises  active 
pederasty  only  to  please  another.  The  most  important 
point  here  is  the  congenital  and  unchangeable  perversion 
of  the  sexual  instinct. 

It  is  otherw^ise  v^^ith  the  pederast  by  cultivation.  He 
has  once  acted  normally  sexually,  or  at  least  had  normal 
inclinations,  and  occasionally  has  intercourse  with,  the 
opposite  sex.  His  sexual  perversity  is  neither  congenital 
nor  unchangeable.  He  begins  with  pederasty  and  ends  in 
other  perverse  sexual  acts,  induced  by  weakness  of  the 
centres  for  erection  and  ejaculation.  At  the  height  of  his 
power,  his  sexual  desire  is  not  for  passive,  but  for  active 
pederasty.  He  yields  to  passive  pederasty  only  to  please 
another;  for  money,  in  the  role  of  a  male  prostitute;  or 
as  a  means,  when  virility  is  declining,  to  make  active 
pederasty  still  occasionally  possible. 

A  horrible  act,  that  must  be  alluded  to,  in  conclusion, 
is  pcedicatio  rmdierum}  and  even  uxorum.  Sensual  indi- 
viduals sometimes  do  it  with  hardened  prostitutes,  or 
even  with  their  wives.  Tardieu  gives  examples  where 
men,  usually  practising  coitus,  sometimes  indulged  in 
pederasty  with  their  wives.  Occasionally  fear  of  a  repeti- 
tion of  pregnancy  may  induce  the  man  to  perform  and  the 
woman  to  tolerate  the  act. 

Case  205.  Imp^itation  of  pederasty  that  tvas  not  proved. 
Resume  from  the  legal  proceedings  : — 


1  Cf.  Tardieu,  "  Attentats,"  p.  198 ;  Martineau,  "  Deutsche  Med. 
Zeitung," '1882,  p.  9;  Virchoiu's  "Jahrb.,"  1881,  i.,  p.  533;  Coutagne, 
"Lyon  Medical,"  Nos.  35,  36.  Eulenhxirg  in  '' Zillzer's  Klin.  Plandb.  d. 
Ham-  u.  Sexual-organe,"  iv.  Abtheil.  p.  45,  relates  cases  of  his  own 
experience,  in  which  women  brought  actions  for  divorce  on  the  ground 
that  the  husband,  in  order  to  avoid  ofTspring,  practised  pcedicatio  only. 


564  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

On  30tb   May,   1888,   Dr.   S.,   chemist,   of  H.,  in   an 
anonymous  letter,  was  accused  by  his  stepfather  of  liavjng 
immoral  relations  with  G.,  aged  nineteen,  the  son  of  a 
butcher.     Dr.  S.  received  the  letter,  and,  astounded  by  its 
contents,  hastened  to  his  master,  who  promised  to  proceed 
discreetly  in  the  matter,  and  to  ascertain  from  the  authori- 
ties what  was  being  said  about  this  matter  by  the  public. 
On  the  next  morning,  G..  who  lived  in  the  house  of 
Dr.   S.,   was    arrested.      At   the  time  he  was   sick  with 
gonorrhoea  and  orchitis.    Dr.  S.  tried  to  induce  the  authori- 
ties to  release  G.,  and  advised  caution,  but  he  was  refused. 
In  his  statement  to  the  judge,  S.  said  that  he  became 
acquainted  with  G.  on  the  street,  three  years  previously, 
and  then  saw  no  more  of  him  until  the  fall   of  1887, 
when  he  met  him  m  his  father's  shop.      After  November 
G.  supplied  Dr.  S.'s  kitchen  with  meat — commg  in  the 
evening  to  get  the  order,  and  bringing  the  meat  the  next 
morning.    Thus  S.  gradually  got  well  acquainted  with  G., 
and  came  to  have  a  very  friendly  feehng  for  him.     When 
S.  fell  ill  and  was,  for  the  most  part,  confined  to  his  bed 
until  the  middle  of  May,  1888,  G  gave  him  so  much  atten- 
tion that  S.'  and  his  wife  were  much  attracted  to  him  on 
account  of  his  harmless,  child-hke  and  happy  disposition. 
Dr.  S.  showed  and  explained  to  him  his  collection  of  curi- 
osities, and  they  spent  the  evenings  pleasantly  together, 
the  wife  also  being  usually  present ;  besides,  S.  and  G. 
experimented  in  making  sausages,  jelly,  etc.     In  February, 
1888,  G.  fell  ill  with  gonorrhoea.     Dr.  S.,  being  his  friend, 
and  having  studied  medicine  for  several  terms,  took  care 
of  G.,  procured  medicine  for  him,  etc.     In  May,  G.  being 
still  sick,  and,  for  several  reasons,  inclined  to  leave  home, 
S.  and  his  wife  took  him  into  their  own  home  to  care  for 
him.     S   denied  the  truth  of  all  the  suspicions  that  had 
been  raised   by  this  relation,  and  defended   himself   by 
pointing  to  his  hfe  of  previous  respectability,  his  educa- 
tion, and  to  the  fact  that  G  ,  at  the  time,  was  suffering 
with  a  disgusting,  contagious  disease,  and  that  he  himself 


CULTIVATED    PEDERASTY.  565 

had  a  painful  affection  (nephritic  calculus,  with  occasional 
attacks  of  colic). 

Opposed  to  this  statement  of  Dr.  S.'s  must  be  men- 
tioned the  facts  that  were  brought  out  in  court,  and  which 
led  to  conviction  in  the  first  trial. 

The  relation  of  S.  to  G.  had,  by  reason  of  its  obvious- 
ness, given  cause  for  remark  by  private  individuals,  as 
well  as  by  those  in  public  houses.  G.  spent  almost  all  his 
evenings  with  S/s  family,  and,  finally,  came  to  be  quite 
at  home  there.  They  took  walks  together.  Once,  while 
out  on  such  a  walk,  S.  said  to  G.  that  he  was  a  pretty 
fellow,  and  that  he  (S.)  was  very  fond  of  him.  On  the 
same  occasion,  there  was  also  talk  of  sexual  matters,  and 
also  of  pederasty.  S.  said  he  touched  on  these  subjects 
only  to  warn  G.  With  reference  to  the  intercourse  at 
home,  it  was  proved  that  occasionally  S.,  while  sitting  on 
a  sofa,  euibraced  G.,  and  kissed  him.  This  happened  in 
the  presence  of  the  wife,  as  well  as  of  the  servant-girls. 
When  G.  was  ill  with  gonorrhoea,  S.  instructed  him  in 
the  method  of  using  a  syringe,  and,  at  the  time,  took  the 
penis  in  his  hand.  G.  testified  that  S.,  in  answer  to  his 
question  why  he  was  so  fond  of  him,  said,  "  I  don't  know 
myself".  When,  one  day,  G.  remained  away,  S.,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  complained  of  it  to  him  when  he  re- 
turned. S.  also  told  him  that  his  marriage  was  unhappy, 
and,  in  tears,  begged  G.  not  to  leave  him ;  that  he  must 
take  the  place  of  his  wife. 

From  all  this  resulted  the  just  accusation,  that  the 
relation  between  the  culprits  had  a  sexual  direction.  The 
fact  that  all  was  open  and  known  to  everybody,  accord- 
ing to  the  complaint,  did  not  speak  for  the  harmlessness 
of  the  relation,  but  more  for  the  intensity  of  the  passion 
of  S.  The  spotless  life  of  the  accused  was  allowed,  as 
well  a*  his  honesty  and  gentleness.  The  probability  of 
an  unhappy  marriage,  and  that  S.  was  of  a  very  sensual 
nature,  was  shown. 

During  the  course  of  the  trial,  G.  was  repeatedly  ex- 


566  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

amined  by  the  medical  experts.  He  is  scarcely  of  medium 
size,  pale,  and  of  powerful  frame  ;  pen'  •  and  testicles  are 
very  perfectly  developed  (large). 

In  consonance  with  the  accusation,  it  was  found  that 
the  anus  was  pathologically  changed,  in  that  there  were 
no  wrinkles  in  the  skin  about  it  and  the  sphincter  was 
relaxed  ;  and  it  was  presumed  that  these  changes  pointed 
to  the  probability  of  passive  pederasty. 

The  conviction  was  based  on  these  facts.  The  judg- 
ment passed  recognised  that  the  relation  existing  between 
the  culprits  did  not  necessarily  point  to  unnatural  abuses, 
any  more  than  did  the  physical  conditions  found  on  the 
person  of  G. 

However,  by  reason  of  the  combination  of  the  two 
facts,  the  court  was  convinced  of  the  guilt  of  both  culprits, 
and  held  it  proved  :  "  That  the  abnormal  condition  of 
G.'s  anus  had  been  caused  by  the  frequently  repeated 
introduction  of  the  penis  of  S.  and  that  G.  voluntarily 
permitted  the  performance  of  this  immoral  act  on  him- 
self ". 

Thus  the  conditions  of  §  175,  E.  St.  G.  B.,  seemed  to 
be  covered.  In  passing  sentence  there  was  considera- 
tion of  S.'s  education,  which  made  him  appear  to  be  G.'s 
seducer  ;  in  G.'s  case,  this  fact  and  his  youth  were  given 
weight ;  and  the  previous  respectability  of  both  was  held 
in  view.  Thus  Dr.  S.  was  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for 
eight  months,  and  G.  for  four  months. 

The  culprits  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  Leip- 
zic^,  and  prepared  themselves,  in  case  the  appeal  should 
be  denied,  to  collect  evidence  sufficient  to  call  for  a  new 

trial. 

They  subjected  themselves  to  examination  and  ob- 
servation by  distinguished  experts.  The  latter  declared 
that  G.'s  anus  presented  no  signs  of  indulgence  in  passive 
pederasty. 

Since  it  seemed  of  importance  to  those  interested  to 
make  clear  the  psychological  aspect  of  the  case,  which 


CTLTIVATED    PEDERASTY.  567 

was  not  touched  on  at  the  trial  the  author  was  intrusted 
with  the  examination  and  observation  of  Dr.  S.  and  G. 
Results  of  the  Personal  Examination,  from  1 1th  to  loth 
December,  1SS8,  in  Graz. — Dr.  S.,  aged  thirty-seven  ;  two 
years  married,  without  children.  Ex-director  of  the 
City  Laboratory  of  H.  He  comes  of  a  father  who  is  said 
to  have  been  nervous,  owing  to  great  activity  ;  who  had 
an  apoplectic  attack  in  his  fifty-seventh  year,  and  died, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-seven,  of  another  attack  of  apoplexy. 
His  mother  is  hving,  and  is  described  as  a  strong  person, 
who  has  been  nervous  for  years.  Her  mother  reached 
quite  an  old  age,  and  is  said  to  have  died  of  a  cerebellar 
tumour.  A  brother  of  the  mother's  father  is  said  to  have 
been  a  drinker.  The  paternal  grandfather  died  early,  of 
softening  of  the  bram. 

Dr.  S.  has  two  brothers,  who  are  in  perfect  health. 
He  states  that  he  is  of  nervous  temperament,  and  has 
been  of  strong  constitution.  After  articular  rheumatism, 
which  he  had  in  his  fourteenth  year,  he  suffered  with 
great  nervousness  for  some  months.  Thereafter  he  often 
suffered  with  rheumatic  pams,  palpitation,  and  short- 
ness of  breath.  These  symptoms  gradually  disappeared 
with  sea-bathing.  Seven  years  ago  he  had  gonorrhoea. 
This  disease  became  chronic,  and  for  a  long  time  caused 
bladder  difficulty. 

In  1887  he  had  his  first  attack  of  renal  cohc,  and  he 
had  such  attacks  repeatedly  during  the  winter  of  1887 
and  1888,  until  16th  May,  1888,  when  quite  a  large  renal 
calculus  was  passed.  Since  then  his  condition  had  been 
quite  satisfactory.  While  suffering  with  stone,  during 
coitus,  at  the  moment  of  ejaculation,  he  felt  severe  pain 
in  the  urethra   and  the  same  pain  when  urinating. 

With  reference  to  his  life,  S.  states  that  he  attended 
the  Gymnasium  until  he  was  fourteen,  but  after  that, 
owing  to  the  results  of  his  severe  illness,  he  studied 
privately.  He  then  spent  four  years  in  a  chemist's  shop, 
and  then  studied  medicine  for  six  semesters  at  the  Uni- 


568  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

versity,  serving,  in  the  war  of  1870,  as  a  voluntary  hos- 
pital assistant.  Since  he  had  no  certificate  of  graduation 
from  the  Gymnasium,  he  gave  up  the  study  of  medicine, 
and  obtained  the  degree  of  doctor  of  philosophy.  Ther. 
he  served  in  the  Museum  of  Minerals  in  K.,  and  later  as 
assistant  in  the  Mineralogical  Institute  of  H.  Thereafter 
he  made  special  studies  in  the  chemistry  of  food-stuffs,  and 
five  years  ago  became  director  of  the  City  Laboratory. 
He  makes  all  these  statements  in  a  prompt,  precise 
manner,  and  does  not  think  long  about  his  ansv^ers  ;  so 
that  one  is  more  and  more  led  to  think  that  he  is  a  man 
who  loves  and  speaks  the  truth — the  more,  since,  on  the 
following  day,  his  statements  are  identical.  With  reference 
to  his  vita  scxualis,  Dr.  S.,  in  a  modest,  delicate  and  open 
way,  states  that  in  his  eleventh  year  he  began  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  difference  of  the  sexes,  and  for  some 
time,  until  his  fourteenth  year,  was  given  to  onanism. 
He  first  had  coitus  at  eighteen,  and  thereafter  indulged 
moderately.  His  sensual  desire  had  never  been  very  great, 
but,  until  lately,  the  sexual  act  had  been  normal  in  every 
way,  and  accompanied  by  gratifying  pleasurable  feeling 
and  full  virility.  Since  his  marriage,  two  years  ago,  he 
had  cohabited  with  his  wife  exclusively.  He  had  married 
his  wife  out  of  love,  and  still  loved  her,  having  coitus  with 
her  at  least  several  times  a  week.  The  wife,  who  was 
also  at  hand,  confirmed  these  statements. 

All  cross-questioning  with  reference  to  a  perversion  of 
sexual  feeling  toward  men  Dr.  S.  answered  repeatedly  in 
the  negative,  to  repeated  examination,  and  that  without 
contradiction  or  any  thought  of  the  answers.  Even  when, 
in  order  to  trap  him,  he  is  told  that  the  proof  of  a  perverse 
sexual  instinct  would  be  of  avail  in  the  trial,  he  sticks 
to  his  statements.  One  gains  the  important  impression 
that  S.  has  not  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  facts  of 
male-love.  Thus  it  is  learned  that  his  lascivious  dreams 
have  never  been  about  men  ;  that  he  is  interested  only  in 
female  nudity ;  that  he  liked  to  dance  with   ladies,  etc. 


CULTIVATED    PEDEEASTY.  569 

No  traces  of  any  kind  of  sexual  inclination  for  his  own 
sex  can  be  discovered  in  S.  With  reference  to  his  rela- 
tions with  G.,  Dr.  S.  expresses  himsalf  exactly  as  he  did  at 
his  examination  before  the  court.  In  explanation  of  his 
partiality  for  G.,  he  can  only  say  that  he  is  nervous,  and  a 
man  of  feeling  and  great  sensibility,  and  very  sensitive  to 
friendliness.  During  his  illness  he  had  felt  very  lonesome 
and  depressed ;  his  wife  had  frequently  been  with  her 
parents ;  and  thus  it  had  happened  that  he  had  become 
friendly  with  G.,  who  was  so  gentle  and  kind.  He  still 
had  a  weakness  for  him,  and  felt  remarkably  quiet  and 
contented  while  in  his  society. 

He  had  had  two  such  close  friendships  previously : 
when  he  was  yet  a  student,  with  a  corps-brother,  a  Dr. 
A.,  whom  he  also  embraced  and  kissed  ;  later,  with  a 
Baron  M.  When  it  happened  that  he  could  not  see  him 
for  a  few  days,  he  became  depressed,  and  even  cried. 

He  also  had  a  similar  feeling  and  attachment  for 
animals.  Thus  he  had  mourned  the  loss  of  a  poodle  that 
died  a  short  time  ago,  as  if  it  had  been  a  member  of  the 
family ;  he  had  often  kissed  the  animal.  (On  relating 
this,  the  tears  came  to  his  eyes.)  His  brother  confirmed 
these  statements,  with  the  remark,  with  reference  to  his 
brother's  remarkable  friendship  for  A.  and  M.,  that  in 
these  instances  there  was  not  the  slightest  suspicion  of 
sexual  colouring  or  relation.  The  most  careful  and  detailed 
examination  of  Dr.  S.  gave  not  the  slightest  reason  for 
such  a  presumption. 

He  states  that  he  never  had  the  slightest  sexual 
feeling  for  G.,  to  say  nothing  of  erection  or  sexual  desire. 
His  partiality  for  G.,  which  bordered  on  jealousy,  S.  ex- 
plained as  due  merely  to  his  sentimental  temperament 
and  his  inordinate  friendship.  G.  was  still  as  dear  to  him 
as  if  he  were  his  son. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  S.  stated  that  when  G.  told 
him  about  his  love  adventures  with  girls,  it  had  hurt  him 
only  because  G.  was  in  danger  of  injuring  himself  and 


570  PSTCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

ruining  his  health  by  dissipation.  He  had  never  felt  hurt 
himself  by  this.  If  he  knew  a  good  girl  for  G.,  he  would 
be  glad  to  rejoice  with  him  and  do  all  he  could  to  promote 
their  marriage. 

S.  states  that  it  was  first  in  the  course  of  his  legal 
examination  that  he  saw  how  he  had  been  careless  in  his 
intercourse  with  G.,  by  causing  gossip.  His  openness  he 
explained  as  due  to  the  innocence  of  the  friendship. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  S.'s  wife  never  noticed  any- 
thing suspicious  in  the  intercourse  between  her  husband 
and  G.,  though  the  most  simple  wife  would  instinctively 
notice  anything  of  that  nature.  Mrs.  S.  had  also  made 
no  opposition  to  receiving  G.  into  the  house.  On  this 
point  she  remarked  that  the  spare-room  in  which  G.  lay 
ill  was  on  the  second  floor,  while  the  living  apartments 
were  on  the  fourth  ;  and,  further,  that  S.  never  associated 
alone  with  G.  as  long  as  he  was  in  the  house.  She  states 
that  she  is  convinced  of  her  husband's  innocence,  and  that 
she  loves  him  as  before. 

Dr.  S.  states  freely  that  formerly  he  had  often  kissed 
G.,  and  talked  with  him  about  sexual  matters.  G.  was 
much  given  to  women,  and  in  friendship  he  had  often 
warned  him  about  sexual  dissipation,  particularly  when 
G.,  as  often  happened,  did  not  look  well  He  had  once 
said  that  G.  was  a  handsome  fellow ;  it  was  in  a  perfectly 
harmless  relation. 

The  kissing  of  G.  had  been  due  to  inordinate  friend- 
ship, when  G.  had  shown  him  some  particular  attention, 
or  pleased  him  especially.  In  the  act  he  had  never  had 
any  sexual  feeling.  When  he  had  now  and  then  dreamed 
of  G.,  it  was  in  a  perfectly  harmless  way. 

It  appeared  of  great  importance  to  the  author  to  form 
also  an  opinion  of  G  's  personality.  On  12th  December 
the  desired  opportunity  was  given,  and  G.  was  carefully 
examined. 

G.  is  a  young  man,  aged  twenty,  of  delicate  build, 
whose  development  corresponds  with  his  years ;  and  he 


CULTIVATED    PEDERASTY.  571 

appears  to  be  neuropathic  and  sensual.  The  genitals  are 
normal  and  well  developed.  The  author  thinks  he  may- 
be permitted  to  pass  over  the  condition  of  the  anus,  as  he 
does  not  feel  called  upon  to  pass  judgment  upon  it.  Pro- 
longed association  with  G.  gives  one  the  impression  that 
he  is  a  harmless,  kind,  and  artless  man,  who  is  light- 
minded,  but  not  morally  depraved.  Nothing  in  his  dress 
or  manner  indicates  perverse  sexual  feeling.  There  cannot 
be  the  slightest  suspicion  that  he  is  a  male  courtesan. 

When  G.  is  introduced  in  medias  res,  he  states  that  S. 
and  he,  feehng  their  innocence,  had  told  the  matter  as  it 
actually  was,  and  on  this  the  whole  trial  had  been  based. 

At  first,  S.'s  friendship,  and  especially  the  kissing, 
had  seemed  remarkable,  even  to  him.  Later  he  had  con- 
vinced himself  that  it  was  merely  friendship,  and  had 
then  thought  no  more  about  it. 

G.  had  looked  upon  S.  as  a  father-like  friend  ;  for  he 
was  so  unselfish,  and  loved  him  so. 

The  expression  "  handsome  fellow  "  was  made  when 
G.  had  a  love-affair,  and  when  S.  expressed  his  fears 
about  a  happy  future  for  G.  At  that  time  S.  had  com- 
forted him,  and  said  that  his  (G.'s)  appearance  was  pleas- 
ing, and  that  he  would  make  an  eligible  match. 

Once  S.  had  complained  to  him  (G.)  that  his  wife  was 
inchned  to  drink,  and  burst  into  tears.  G.  was  touched 
by  his  friend's  unhappiness.  On  this  occasion  S.  had 
kissed  him,  and  begged  for  his  friendship^  and  asked  him 
to  visit  him  frequently. 

S.  had  never  spontaneously  directed  the  conversation 
to  sexual  matters.  G.  once  asked  what  pederasty  was,  of 
which  he  had  heard  much  while  in  England  ;  and  S.  had 
explained  it  to  him. 

G.  acknowledges  that  he  is  sensual.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  he  had  l)een  made  acquainted  with  sexnal  matters 
by  schoolmates.  He  had  never  masturbated,  had  first 
had  coitus  at  the  age  ot  eighteen,  and  had  since  visited 
brothels  frequently.     He  had  never  felt  any  inchnation 


572  PSYCHOPATTTIA    SEXUALIS. 

for  his  own  sex,  and  had  never  experienced  any  sexual 
excitement  when  S.  kissed  him.  He  had  always  had 
pleasure  in  coitus  normally  performed.  His  lascivious 
dreams  had  always  been  of  women.  With  indignation, 
and  pointing  to  his  descent  from  a  healthy  and  respectable 
family,  he  repels  the  insinuation  of  having  been  given  to 
passive  pederasty.  Until  the  gossip  about  them  came  to 
his  ears,  he  had  been  innocent  and  devoid  of  suspicion. 
The  anal  anomalies  he  tries  to  explain  in  the  same  way 
that  he  did  at  the  trial.  Auto-masturbation  in  another 
denies. 

It  should  be  noted  that  Mr.  J.  S.  claims  to  be  no  less 
astonished  by  the  charge  against  his  brother  of  male-love 
than  those  more  closely  associated  with  him.  Yet  he 
could  not  understand  what  attached  his  brother  to  G.  ; 
and  all  the  explanations  which  S.  made  to  him  concerning 
his  relation  to  G.  were  vain. 

The  author  took  the  trouble  to  observe  Dr.  S.  and  G., 
in  a  natural  way,  while  they  were  dining,  in  company 
with  S.'s  brother  and  Mrs.  S.,  in  Graz.  This  observation 
revealed  not  the  slightest  sign  of  improper  friendship. 

The  general  impression  which  Dr.  S.  made  on  me  was 
that  of  a  nervous,  sanguine,  somewhat  overstrained  in- 
dividual, but,  at  the  same  time,  kind,  open-hearted,  and 
very  emotional. 

Dr.  S.  is  physically  strong,  somewhat  corpulent,  with 
a  symmetrical,  brachycephahc  cranium.  The  genitals  are 
well  developed  ;  the  penis  somewhat  beUied  ;  the  prepuce 
shghtly  hypertrophied. 

Opinion. — Pederasty  is,  unfortunately,  not  infrequent 
among  mankind  to-day  ;  but  still,  occurring  among  the 
peoples  of  Europe,  it  is  an  unusual,  perverse,  and  even 
monstrous  manner  of  sexual  gratification.  It  presumes 
a  congenital  or  acquired  perversion  of  the  sexual  instinct, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  defect  of  moral  sense  that  is  either 
original  or  acquired,  as  a  result  of  pathological  influences. 

Medico-legal   science   is   thoroughly   conversant  with 


C^ULTIVATED    PEDERASTY.  573 

the  physical  and  psychical  conditions  from  which  this 
aberration  of  the  sexual  instinct  arises;  and  in  the 
concrete  and  doubtful  case  it  seems  requisite  to  ascertain 
whether  these  empirical,  subjective  conditions  necessary 
for  pederasty  are  present.  It  is  essential  to  distinguish 
between  active  and  passive  pederasty. 

Active  pederasty  occurs  : — 

I.  As  a  non-jyathological  phenomenon  : — 

1.  As  a  means  of  sexual  gratification,  in  case  of  great 
sexual  desire,  with  enforced  abstinence  from  natural  sexual 
intercourse. 

2.  In  old  debauchees,  who  have  become  satiated  with 
normal  sexual  intercourse,  and  more  or  less  impotent,  and 
also  morally  depraved  ;  and  who  resort  to  pederasty  in 
order  to  excite  their  lust  with  this  new  stimulus,  and  aid 
their  virility  that  has  sunk  so  low  psychically  and  physi- 
cally. 

3.  Traditionally,  among  certain  barbarous  races  that 
are  devoid  of  morality. 

II.  As  a  pathological  phenomenon  : — 

1.  Upon  the  basis  of  congenital  sexual  inversion,  with 
repugnance  for  sexual  intercourse  with  women,  or  even 
absolute  incapability  of  it.  But,  as  even  Casper  knew, 
pederasty,  under  such  conditions,  is  very  infrequent.  The 
so-called  urning  satisfies  himself  with  a  man  by  means 
of  passive  or  mutual  onanism,  or  by  means  of  coitus-Hke 
acts  {e.g.,  coitus  inter  femora)  ;  and  he  resorts  to  pederasty 
only  very  exceptionally,  as  a  result  of  intense  sexual  de- 
sire, or  with  a  low  or  lowered  moral  sense,  out  of  desire 
to  please  another. 

2.  On  the  basis  of  acquired  pathological  sexual  inver- 
sion : — 

(a)  As  a  result  of  onanism  practised  through  many 
years,  which  finally  causes  impotence  for  women  with 
continuance  of  intense  sexual  desire. 

(i)  As  a  result  of  severe  mental  disease  (senile  dementia, 
brain-softening  in  the  insane,  etc.)  in  which,  as  expeii- 


574  PSYCHOPATHIA   SEXUALIS. 

ence  teaches,  an  inversion  of  the  sexual  instinct  may  take 
place. 

Passive  pederasty  occurs  : — 

I.  As  a  non-pathological  phenomenon  : — 

1.  In  individuals  of  the  lowest  class,  who,  having  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  seduced  in  boyhood  by  debauchees, 
endured  pain  and  disgust  for  the  sake  of  money,  and  be- 
came depraved  morally,  so  that,  in  more  mature  years, 
they  have  fallen  so  low  that  they  take  pleasure  in  being 
male  prostitutes. 

2.  Under  circumstances  analogous  to  those  of  I.,  1 — 
as  a  remuneration  to  another  for  having  allowed  active 
pederasty. 

II.  As  a  patJiological  phenomenon  : — 

1.  In  individuals  affected  with  sexual  inversion,  with 
endurance  of  pain  and  disgust,  as  a  return  to  men  for  the 
bestowal  of  sexual  favours 

2.  In  urnings  who  feel  toward  men  like  women,  out 
of  desire  and  lust.  In  such  female-men  there  is  horror 
femina  and  absolute  incapability  for  sexual  intercourse 
with  women.     Character  and  inclinations  are  feminine. 

The  empirical  facts  that  have  been  gathered  by  legal 
medicine  and  psychiatry  are  all  included  in  this  classifi- 
cation. Before  the  court  of  medical  science,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  prove  that  a  man  belonged  to  one  of  the 
above  categories  in  order  to  carry  the  conviction  that  he 
was  a  pederast. 

In  the  life  and  character  of  Dr.  S.,  one  searches  in  vain 
for  signs  which  place  him  in  one  of  the  categories  of 
active  pederasts  which  science  has  established.  He  is 
neither  one  forced  to  sexual  abstinence,  nor  one  made 
impotent  for  women  by  debauchery  ;  neither  is  he  con- 
genitally  male-loving,  nor  alienated  from  women  by  mas- 
turbation, and  attracted  to  men  through  continuance  of 
sexual  desire ;  and,  finally,  he  is  not  sexuahy  perverse 
as  a  result  of  severe  mental  disease. 

In  fact,  the  general  conditions  necessary  for  the  occur- 


CULTIVATED   PEDERASTY.  575 

rence  of  pederasty  are  wanting  in  him — moral  imbecility 
or  moral  depravity,  on  the  one  hand,  and  inordinate  sexual 
desire  on  the  other. 

It  is  likewise  impossible  to  classify  the  accomplice,  G., 
in  any  of  the  empirical  categories  of  passive  pederasty  ; 
for  he  possesses  neither  the  peculiarities  of  the  male  pros- 
titute nor  the  clinical  marks  of  effemination ;  and  he 
has  not  the  anthropological  and  clinical  stigmata  of  the 
female-man.      He  is,  in  fact,  the  very  opposite  of  all  this. 

In  order  to  make  a  pederastic  relation  between  the 
two  plausible  medico-scientifically,  it  would  be  requisite 
for  Dr.  S.  to  present  the  antecedents  and  marks  of  the 
active  pederasts  of  I.,  2,  and  G.,  those  of  the  passive 
pederasts  of  II.,  1  or  2. 

The  assumption  lying  at  the  basis  of  the  verdict  is, 
from  a  psychological  standpoint,  legally  untenable. 

With  the  same  right,  every  man  might  be  considered 
a  pederast.  It  remains  to  consider  whether  the  explana- 
tions given  by  Dr.  S.  and  G.  of  their  remarkable  friend- 
ship are  psychologically  valid. 

Psychologically  it  is  not  without  parallel  that  so  senti- 
mental and  eccentric  a  man  as  S. — without  any  sexual 
excitement  whatever — should  entertain  a  transcendental 
friendship.  It  suffices  to  recall  the  friendship  of  school- 
girls, the  self-sacrificing  friendship  of  sentimental  young 
persons  in  general,  and  the  partiality  which  this  sensitive 
man  sometimes  showed  even  for  domestic  animals — where 
no  one  would  think  of  sodomy.  With  S.'s  mental  char- 
acter his  extraordinary  friendship  for  the  youth  G.  may 
be  easily  comprehended.  The  openness  of  this  friendship 
permits  the  conclusion  that  it  was  innocent,  much  rather 
than  that  it  depended  upon  sensual  passion. 

The  defendants  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  new  trial. 
The  new  trial  took  place  on  7th  March,  1890.  There  was 
much  evidence  presented  in  favour  of  the  accused. 

The  previous  moral  life  of  S.  was  generally  acknow- 
ledged.    The  Sister  of  Charity  who  cared  for  G.  in  S.'s 


576  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

house,  never  noticed  anything  suspicious  in  the  inter- 
course between  S.  and  G.  S.'s  former  friends  testified  to 
his  morahty,  his  deep  friendship,  and  his  habit  of  kissing 
them  on  meeting  or  leaving  them.  The  anal  abnor- 
malities previously  found  on  G.  were  no  longer  present. 
Experts  called  by  the  court  allowed  the  possibihty  that 
they  had  been  due  simply  to  digital  manipulations  ;  their 
diagnostic  value  in  any  case  was  contested  by  the  experts 
called  by  the  defence. 

The  court  recognised  that  the  imputed  crime  had  not 
been  proved,  and  exonerated  the  defendants. 

Lesbian  Love.^ 

"Where  the  sexual  intercourse  is  between  adults,  its 
legal  importance  is  very  slight.  It  could  conje  into  con- 
sideration only  in  Austria.  In  connection  with  urningism, 
tliis  phenomenon  is  of  anthropological  and  clinical  value. 
The  relation  is  the  same,  mutatis  mutandis,  as  between 
men.  Lesbian  love  does  not  seem  to  approach  urningism 
in  frequency.  The  majority  of  female  urnings  do  not  act 
in  obedience  to  an  innate  impulse,  but  they  are  developed 
under  conditions  analogous  to  those  which  produce  the 
urning  by  cultivation. 

These  "  forbidden  friendships  "  flourish  especially  in 
penal  institutions  for  females.  , 

Kraussold  {oj).  cit.)  reports  :  "  The  female  prisoners 
often  have  such  friendships,  which,  when  possible,  extend 
to  mutual  manustupration. 

"  But  temporary  manual  gratification  is  not  the  only 
purpose  of  such  friendships.  They  are  made  to  be  endur- 
ing— entered  into  systematically,  so  to  speak — and  intense 

1  C/.  Mayer,  ''  Friedreich s  Blatter,"  1875,  p.  41;  Krausold,  "  MelaD- 
cliolie  und  Sclmld,"  1884,  p.  20 ;  Andronico,  "  Archiv  di  psich.  scienze 
penali  ed  antliropol.  crim.,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  145;  Chevalier,  "  L'inversion 
sexuellc,"  Paris,  1SU3,  p.  217  (searching  description  of  "  sapphic  love  "  in 
modern  Paris). 


LESBIAN   LOVE.  577 

jealousy  and  a  passion  for  love  are  developed  v^hich  could 
scarcely  be  surpassed  between  persons  of  opposite  sex. 
When  the  friend  of  one  prisoner  is  merely  smiled  at 
by  another,  there  are  often  the  most  violent  scenes  of 
jealousy,  and  even  beatings. 

"  When  the  violent  prisoner  has  been  put  in  irons,  in 
accordance  with  the  prison  regulations,  she  says  '  she 
has  had  a  child  by  her  friend  '." 

We  are  indebted  to  Parent- Duchatelet  ("  De  la  prosti- 
tution," 1857,  vol.  i.,  p.  159),  for  interesting  communica- 
tions concerning  Lesbian  love 

According  to  this  experienced  author,  repugnance  for 
the  most  disgusting  and  perverse  acts  (coitus  in  axilla, 
ore,  inter  mammas,  etc.)  which  men  perform  on  prostitutes 
is  not  infrequently  responsible  for  driving  these  unfortu- 
nate creatures  to  Lesbian  love.  From  his  statements  it 
is  seen  that  it  is  essentially  prostitutes  of  great  sensuality 
who,  unsatisfied  with  intercourse  with  impotent  or  per- 
verse men,  and  impelled  by  their  disgusting  practices, 
come  to  indulge  in  it. 

Besides  these,  there  are  prostitutes  who  let  themselves 
be  known  as  given  to  tribadism ;  persons  who  have  been 
in  prisons  for  years,  and  in  these  hot-beds  of  Lesbian 
love,  ex  abstmentia,  acquired  this  vice. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  prostitutes  hate  those 
who  practice  tribadism,— just  as  men  abhor  pederasts ; 
but  female  prisoners  do  not  regard  the  vice  as  indecent. 

Parent  mentions  the  case  of  a  prostitute  who,  while 
intoxicated,  tried  to  force  another  to  Lesbian  love.  The 
latter  became  so  enraged  that  she  denounced  the  indecent 
woman  to  the  police.  Taxil  (op.  cit.,  pp.  166,  170)  reports 
similar  instances. 

Maiitefjazza  ("Anthropol.  culturhistorische  Studien,"  p. 
97)  also  finds  that  sexual  intercourse  between  women  has 
especially  the  significance  of  a  vice  which  arises  on  the 
basis  of  unsatisfied  hypercesthesia  sexualis. 

o/ 


578  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

In  many  cases  of  this  kind,  however,  aside  from  con- 
genital sexual  inversion,  one  gains  the  impression  that, 
just  as  iu  men  {vide  supra)^  the  cultivated  vice  gradually 
leads  to  acquired  antipathic  sexual  instinct,  with  repugnance 
for  sexual  intercourse  with  the  opposite  sex. 

At  least  Parent's  cases  were  probably  of  this  nature. 
The  correspondence  with  the  lover  was  quite  as  sen- 
timental and  exaggerated  in  tone  as  it  is  between  lovers 
of  the  opposite  sex ;  unfaithfulness  and  separation  broke 
the  heart  of  the  one  abandoned  ;  jealousy  was  unbridled, 
and  led  to  bloody  revenge.  The  following  cases  of  Lesbian 
love,  by  Mantegazza,  are  certainly  pathological,  and  pos- 
sibly examples  of  congenital  antipathic  sexual  instinct : — 

(1)  On  5th  July,  1777,  a  woman  was  brought  before  a 
court  in  London,  who,  dressed  as  a  man,  had  been  married 
to  three  different  women.  She  was  recognised  as  a  woman, 
and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  six  months. 

(2)  In  1773,  another  woman,  dressed  as  a  man,  courted 
a  girl  and  asked  for  her  hand ;  but  the  trick  did  not 
succeed. 

(3)  Two  women  lived  together  as  man  and  wife  for 
thirty  years.  On  her  death -bed  the  "  husband  "  confessed 
her  secret  to  those  about  her. 

Coffiijnon  {op.  cit.,  p.  301)  makes  later  statements  worthy 
of  notice. 

He  reports  that  this  vice  is,  of  late,  quite  the  fashion, 
partly  owing  to  novels  on  the  subject,  and  partly  as  a 
result  of  excessive  work  on  sewing-machines,  the  sleeping 
of  female  servants  in  the  same  bed,  seduction  in  schools 
by  depraved  pupils,  or  seduction  of  daughters  by  perverse 
servants. 

The  author  declares  that  this  vice  ("saphism")  is 
met  more  frequently  among  ladies  of  the  aristocracy  and 
prostitutes. 

He  does  not  differentiate  physiological  and  pathological 
cases,  nor,  among  the  latter,  the  acquired  and  congenital 
cases.     The  details  of  a  few  cases,  which  are  certainly 


LESBIAN   LOVE.  579 

pathological,  correspond  exactly  with  the  facts  that  are 
known  about  men  of  inverted  sexuality. 

The  saphists  have  their  places  of  meeting,  recognise 
each  other  by  peculiar  glances,  carriage,  etc.  Sapliistic 
pairs  like  to  dress  and  ornament  themselves  alike,  etc. 
They  are  then  called  " petites  scetirs". 

Chevalier  very  drastically  characterises  the  perversity 
and  distinguishes  it  from  the  perversion  in  the  following 
words  (cf.  "  L'inversion  sexuelle,"  p,  268,  Paris,  1895): — 

"...  que  Ton  soit  pederaste  ou  lesbienne  par  surexci- 
tation  des  sens  epuises,  par  avilissement  mercantile,  par 
besoin  d'mie  •' trompe  la  faim,'  par  faiblesse  d'esprit  ou 
dilettantisme ;  il  ressort  de  cette  analyse  que  I'anomalie 
ne  nait  pas  avec  I'individu,  que  I'enfance  I'ignore,  qu'elle 
ne  se  montre  guere  d'un  seul  coup,  mais  peu  a  peu,  gradu- 
ellement,  a  un  certain  age,  apres  des  pratiques  sexuelles 
normales,  qu'elle  n'est  ni  permanente,  ni  absolue,  qu'elle 
se  concilia  avec  la  pleine  conscience  et  I'integrite  de 
I'intelligence,  qu'elle  peut  s'amender  et  disparaitre,  qu'elle 
ne  s'accompagne  primitivement  d'aucune  tare  physique 
ou  psychique  saillante,  qu'elle  n'a  pas  d'autre  criterium 
objectif  que  le  fait  lui-meme,  qu'elle  n'est  ni  fatale  ni 
irresistible  dans  ses  impulsions,  qu'elle  constitue  enfin  un 
etat  particulier  d'origine  plus  sociale  qu'individuelle. 

"  Defaut  d'instinctivite,  de  spoutaneite,  d'incoercibilite, 
J'imutabilite,  absence  ou  posteriorite  des  defectuosites 
organiques  et  mentales  correlatives,  acquisition  tardive  et 
artificielle,  premeditation  des  actes,  conscience ;  genese 
d'ordre  mesologique,  necessite  d'une  initiation  prealable, 
et  surtout  nulle  trace  d'heredite,  ce  sont  bien  la  les  carac- 
teres  de  la  passion  pure,  du  vice  sans  alliage.  Somme 
toute :  rien  de  pathologique ;  ou  doit  done  prevenir,  ou 
peut  dene  reprimer." 


580  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

8.  Necrophilia,^ 

(Austrian  Statutes,  §  306.) 

This  horrible  kind  of  sexual  indulgence  is  so  monstrous 
that  the  presumption  of  a  psychopathic  state  is,  under  all 
circumstances,  justified  ;  and  Maschkas  recommendation, 
that  the  mental  condition  of  the  perpetrator  should  always 
be  investigated,  is  well  founded.  In  any  case,  an  abnormal 
and  decidedly  perverse  sensuality  is  required  to  overcome 
the  natural  repugnance  which  man  has  for  a  corpse,  and 
permit  a  feeling  of  pleasure  to  be  experienced  in  sexual 
congress  with  a  cadaver. 

Unfortunately,  in  the  majority  of  the  cases  reported, 
the  mental  condition  was  not  examined ;  so'  that  the 
question  whether  necrophilia  is  compatible  with  mental 
soundness  must  remain  open.  But  any  one  having  know- 
ledge of  the  horrible  aberrations  of  the  sexual  instinct 
would  not  venture,  without  further  consideration,  to  answer 
the  question  in  the  negative. 

9.  Incest. 

(Austrian  Statutes,  §  132 ;  Abridgment,  §  189 ;  German  Statutes,  §  174.) 

The  preservation  of  the  moral  purity  of  family  life  is 
a  product  of  civihsation  ;  and  feehngs  of  intense  dis- 
pleasure arise  in  an  ethically  intact  man  at  thought  of 
lustful  feeling  toward  a  member  of  the  same  family.  Only 
great  sensuality  and  defective  ideas  of  laws  and  morals 
can  lead  to  incest. 

Both  conditions  may,  in  tainted  families,  be  opera- 
tive. Drinking  and  a  state  of  intoxication  in  men  ;  weak- 
mindedness  which  does  not  allow  the  development  of  the 
feeling  of  shame,  and  which,  under  certain  circumstances, 
is  associated  with  eroticism  in  females — these  facilitate 
the  occurrence  of  incestuous   acts.     External  conditions 

1  Cf.  Maschka,  "  Hdb.,"  iii.,  p.  191  (good  historical  notes) ;  Lcgrand, 
"La  folie,"  p.  521. 


INCEST.  581 

which  facilitate  their  occurrence  are  due  to  defective 
separation  of  the  sexes  among  the  lower  classes. 

As  a  decidedly  pathological  phenomenon,  the  author 
has  found  incest  in  states  of  congenital  and  acquired 
mental  weakness,  and  infrequently  in  cases  of  epilepsy 
and  paranoia. 

In  many  of  the  cases,  probably  a  majority,  it  is  not 
possible,  however,  to  find  a  pathological  basis  for  the  act 
which  so  deeply  wounds  not  only  the  tie  of  blood,  but 
also  the  feeling  of  a  civilised  people.  But  in  many  of  the 
cases  reported  in  Hterature,  to  the  honour  of  humanity, 
the  presumption  of  a  psychopathic  basis  is  possible. 

In  the  Feldtmann  case  {Marc-Ideler,  vol.  i.,  p.  18), 
where  a  father  constantly  made  immoral  attacks  on  his 
adult  daughter,  and  finally  killed  her,  the  unnatural 
father  was  weak-minded  and,  besides,  probably  subject 
to  periodical  mental  disease.  In  another  case  of  incest 
between  father  and  daughter  {loc.  cit.,  p.  247),  the  latter, 
at  least,  was  weak-minded.  Lombroso  {"  Archiv.  di  Psi- 
chiatria,  viii.,  p.  519)  reports  the  case  of  a  peasant,  aged 
forty-two,  who  practised  incest  with  his  daughters,  aged, 
respectively,  twenty-two,  nineteen,  and  eleven  ;  he  even 
forced  the  youngest  to  prostitute  herself,  and  then  visited 
her  in  a  brothel.  The  medico-legal  examination  showed 
predisposition,  intellectual  and  moral  imbeciUty,  and 
alcoholism. 

There  was  no  mental  examination  in  the  case  reported 
by  Schilrmeyer  ("  Deutsche  Zeitschr.  fiir  Staatsarznei- 
kunde,"  xxii ,  Heft  1.),  in  which  a  mother  laid  her  son  of 
five  and  a  half  years  on  herself,  and  practised  abuse  with 
him  ;  and  in  that  given  by  Lafarque  ("  Journ.  Med.  de 
Bordeaux,"  1874),  where  a  girl,  aged  seventeen,  laid  her 
brother,  aged  thirteen,  upon  herself,  brought  about  7ne7n- 
broriim  conjunctionem,  and  performed  masturbation  on  him. 

The  following  cases  are  those  of  tainted  individuals  : — 

Legrand  ("  Ann.  med. -psych.,"  May,  1876)  mentions  a 


582  PSYCHOPATHIA    SEXUALIS. 

girl,  aged  fifteen,  who  seduced  her  brother  into  all  manner 
of  sexual  excesses  on  her  person  ;  and  when,  after  two 
years  of  this  incestuous  practice,  her  brother  died,  she 
attempted  to  murder  a  relative.  In  the  same  article  there 
is  the  case  of  a  married  woman,  aged  thirty-six,  who  hung 
her  open  breast  out  of  a  window,  and  indulged  in  abuse 
with  her  brother,  aged  eighteen  ;  and  also  the  case  of  a 
mother,  aged  thirty-nine,  who  practised  incest  with  her 
son,  with  whom  she  was  madly  in  love,  became  pregnant 
by  him,  and  induced  abortion. 

A  second  case  published  by  Kolle  and  taken  from  a 
criminal  psychiatric  opinion  of  the  psychiatric  clinic  of 
Zurich  refers  to  incest  committed  by  a  father  on  his  im- 
becile adult  daughter.  This  man  suffered  from  chronic 
alcoholism. 

Through  Casper  we  know  that  depraved  mothers  in 
large  cities  sometimes  treat  their  little  daughters  in  a 
most  horrible  fashion,  in  order  to  prepare  them  for  the 
sexual  use  of  debauchees.     This  crime  belongs  elsewhere. 

10.  Immoral  Acts  with  Persons  in  the  Care  of  Others  as 
Wards  ;  Seduction  (Austrian). 

(Austrian  Statutes,  §  131 ;  Abridgment,  §  188 ;  German  Statutes,  §  173). 

Allied  to  incest,  but  still  less  repugnant  to  moral  sen- 
sibility, are  those  cases  in  which  persons  seduce  those 
entrusted  to  them  for  care  or  education,  and  who  are 
more  or  less  dependent  upon  them,  to  commit  or  suffer 
vicious  practices.  Such  acts,  which  especially  deserve 
legal  punishment,  seem  only  exceptionally  to  have  psycho- 
pathic significance.. 


INDEX. 


Adultery,  16. 

Amor  leshicus,  476,  576. 

—  acquired  576. 
Anaesthesia  sexualis,  54. 

—  congenital,  54. 

—  acquired,  61. 
Androgyny,  325,  384. 
Anthropophagy,  82. 
Aphrodisia,  31. 

Antipathic  sexual  instinct,  269. 

—  acquired,  272. 

—  congenital,  339. 

—  treatment  of,  431. 

—  complications    with    other    perver- 

sions, 428. 

—  diagnosis  of  acquired,  431. 

—  —  of  congenital,  433. 

—  explanation  of,  330. 

—  in  the  male,  339. 

—  in  the  female,  390. 

—  prognosis  of,  431. 

—  prophylaxis  of,  433. 

—  therapy  by  suggestion,  435. 

—  symptoms  of  neuropathic  taint,  326. 
Animals,  violation  of,  539. 

Beast  fetichism,  267. 
Bestiality,  539. 

—  difference   between    zooerasty   and, 

539. 
Blackmailing,  548. 
Body,  violation  of,  caused  by  fetichism, 

517. 

by  sadism,  507. 

Bondage,  193,  513. 
Boys,  love  for,  375. 

Celibacy,  15. 

Christianity,  position  of  woman  in,  5. 

Climacteiium,  15. 

Coitus,  41. 

Coquetry,  16. 

Corpses,  violation  of,  90,  476. 

Crimes,  sexual,  472. 

—  character  pathological,  476. 

—  responsibility  in,  475. 
Cruelty  and  lust,  76,  82. 

—  endured  and  lust,  115. 
Cunnilingus,  476. 


Defemination,  284. 
Levicittia  paralitica,  450. 

—  periodical,  461. 

—  mental  due  to  apoplexy,  449. 

—  due  to  injuries  to  the  head,  450. 

—  due  to  lues  cerebralis,  451. 

—  consecutive  to  psychoses,  449. 

—  paretic,  451. 
Despoilers  of  hair,  229. 
Development,  psychical  impediments  of 

445. 

Effemination,  373. 
Ejaculation,  centre  of,  46. 

—  affections  of,  46. 
Epilepsy,  453. 
Erection,  29. 

Erection  centre,  affections  of,  46. 
Erogenous  zones,  40. 
Eviration,  284. 
Exhibitionists,  477. 

—  Epileptics,  481. 

—  hereditary  degenerates,  487. 

—  neurasthenics,  484. 

—  acquired,  mental  debility  of,  478. 

Fanaticism,  religious,  9. 
Fellare,  476. 
Fetich,  18. 

—  animals,  267. 

—  apron,  241. 

—  costume,  235. 

—  ear,  223. 

—  eye,  22,  223. 

—  foot,  21,  221. 

—  fur,  255. 

—  gloves,  21. 

—  hair,  228. 

despoilers,  229. 

—  hand,  21,  214. 

—  handkerchiefs,  243. 

—  in  vi'oman,  25. 

—  kid  gloves,  264. 

—  material,  255. 

—  mouth,  223. 

—  odour,  22. 

—  physical  defects,  223. 

—  relations  of  otlier  sexual  perversion 

21.5. 


(583) 


584 


INDEX. 


Feticli  shoe  and  foot  fetiehism  as  latent 
masocliisiii,    1,'')9. 

—  shoes.  '21,  222,  248. 

—  silk,  255. 

—  skin,  226. 

—  skirts,  253. 

—  soul,  21. 

—  velvet,  255. 

—  voice,  21 
Feticliism,  18,  207. 

—  as  an  acquired  perver.sion,  211. 

—  of  beasts,  267. 

—  erotic,  18. 

—  explanation  of,  207. 

—  essence  of,  209. 

—  of  the  hair,  228. 

—  of  things  and  clothes,  235. 

—  of  parts  of  the  body,  209. 

—  physiological,  18. 

—  religious,  18. 

—  robbery,  theft,  517. 

—  violation  of  the  body,  517. 
Flagellation  as  aphrodisia,  35. 

• —  caused  by  masochism,  132. 

sadism,  95. 

Flagellants,  35. 
Fondness  of  dress,  16. 
Frottage,  explanation  of,  496. 
Frotteurs,  496. 
Friendship,  13. 

Gynandry,  325,  393. 

Hair  duspoilers,  229. 
Hermaphrodism,  psychical,  342. 

—  psycho-sexual,  324. 
Homosexuality  (vide  Antipathic  sexual- 
ity), 357. 

llyperfB.sthesia  sexual,  69. 
Hypersesthetic  zones,  40. 
Hy.steria,  467. 

Impotence,  13. 

—  psychical  due  to  fetiehism,  21Z 
Immorality,  521. 

Inp.est,  580. 

Insanity  among  the  Scythians,  290. 

Instinct,  sexual,  1,  27. 

—  —  control  of,  40. 

—  —  in  children,  48 
■ —  —  in  old  age,  50. 

Inversion,  sexual,  276. 

koprolagnia,  178. 

Love,  15. 

—  lor  boys,  375. 

—  for  dress  and  finery,  17. 

—  passionate,  2. 

—  platonic,  13. 

—  sappliic,  391,  .576. 
Lust,  murder,  82,  476,  500. 

—  passive,  148. 

—  in  the  sexual  act,  42. 


Maltreatment  of  women,  95. 
Mania,  465. 
Masochism,  115,  513. 

—  and  antipathic  sexuality,  206. 

—  as  original  abnormality,  202. 

—  of  Baudelaire,  157. 

—  desire  for  maltreatment  and  huniili 

ation,  117. 

—  essence  of,  115. 

—  explanation  of,  191. 

—  —  by  Binet,  156. 

—  flagellation,  132. 

!    —  I'oot  and  shoe  fetiehism,  159. 

—  ideal,  150. 

—  Koprolagnia,  178. 

—  latent,  159,  178. 

—  ol  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  154. 

—  symbolical,  148. 

—  and  sadism,  analogy,  202. 

—  —  in  the  same  individual,  205. 

—  relation  to  sexual  bondage,  195. 

—  in  woman,  187. 
Masturl)ation,  consequences  of,  273. 

—  impulsive,  484. 
■ —  mutual,  476. 

Matrimony,  16. 

Maturity,  sexual,  26. 

Melancholia,  467. 

Menopause,  15. 

Mental  debility  consequent   upon   psy- 
chosis, 449. 
due  to  specific  disease,  451. 

Menstruation,  27. 

Metammyhosis   sezualis  2>a'{i/)oia,  292 
316. 

Modesty,  3,  16. 

Monogamy,  5. 

Morality,  temporary  decline  of,  7. 

Mujerados,  291. 

Necrophilia,  580. 

Neurasthenia,  484. 
Neurosis,  sexual,  44. 

—  cerebral,  46. 

—  peripheral,  spinal,  45. 

Nose,  relation  to  sexual  spheres,  31. 
Nymphomania,  465. 

Olfactory  sense  and  sexual  spheres,  31 

PcBdicatio  mulieruin,  563. 
Pagism,  126. 
Paradoxia,  sexual,  48. 
Paraesthesia  of  sexual  in.stinct,  75. 
Paranoia,  469. 
Pederasty,  475,  539. 
— ■  active,  573. 

—  not  pathological,  554. 

—  passive,  574. 
Perfumes,  31. 
Perversion,  75. 
Perversity,  75. 

Physiology  of  .sexual  life,  26. 
Polygamy,  4. 


INDEX. 


585 


Polygamy  of  Christian  princes,  4. 
Prostitution  of  men,  562. 
Psychology  of  sexual  lilu,  1. 

—  dilference  between  man  and  woman, 

15. 
Psychopathia  sexualis  periodica,  463. 
Puberty,  26. 

Rape,  500. 

Pieligion  and  sensuality,  10. 

Robbery  due  to  fetichism,  517. 

Sadism,  76. 
-  and  antipathic  sexuality,  206. 

—  of  any  object,  106. 

—  boy  whipping,  107. 

—  corpse  delilers,  90. 

—  defilement  of  female  persons,  152. 

—  essence  of,  115. 

—  maltreatment  orwomen,  95,  5C7. 

—  and  masochism,  analogy,  202. 
in  the  same  individual,  206. 

—  lust  murder,  82. 

—  symbolical,  105. 

—  in  woman,  187. 

Sadistic  acts    perpetrated  on  animals, 

109. 
.Satyriasis,  465. 
Scythians,  dementia,  290. 
Sexual  instinct,  absence  of,  269. 

—  —  perversions  of,  445. 

basis  of  sesthetio  sentiment,  12. 

in  childhood,  48. 

in  old  age,  50. 

as  pliysiological  process,  40. 

psychical  inhibitory,  446. 


Sexual  instinct,  elements  in  development 
of,  446. 

—  —  social,  1. 

—  life,  pathological  in  hy.steria,  467. 
periodical  dementia,  461, 

—  —  mania,  465. 
melancholia,  467. 

—  —  paranoia,  469. 
Seduction,  582. 
Skopzi,  14. 
Sodomy,  539,  540. 
Statues,  defilement  of,  499. 
Sweat,  31. 

Theft,  caused  by  fetichism,  517. 

Unnatural  abuse,  539. 
Urnings,  325,  357. 

—  forensic,  541,  547. 

—  sexual  acts  of,  341. 

Violation,  530 

—  of  statues,  499. 

—  of  animals,  539. 

—  of  wards,  582. 
Virginity,  324,  391. 

Vita  sexualis,  morality,  2. 
Voyeurs,  499. 

Woman,  4. 

—  position  in  Christian  Church,  4. 

—  —  in  I.slam,  5. 

Zones,  erogenous  (hyperaestatic),  40 
Zooerasty,  539. 

—  definition  of,  539, 
Zoophilia  erotica,  267. 


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